THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 
AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


PRESENTED  BY 


Mr,  and  Mrs. 

Roland  McClameroch,  Jr. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00020914897 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2014 


https://archive.org/details/lionellincolnorlOOcoop_0 


.LIT 

LIONEL  LINCOLN; 


OE, 


HE  LEAGUEE  OF  BOSTOl^f. 


BY 

J.  FENIMORE  COOPER. 

FF 

**  First  let  me  talk  with  this  philosopher." 


NEW  YORK: 
D.  APPLETON^   &  COMPAITY, 

5  4  9  &  63  1  BROADWAY. 
1873. 


THE  LIBRARY 
THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  NORTH  CAROUNA 
AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 
W.  A.  TOWNSEND  AND  COMPANY, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


TO 

WILLIAM  JAY, 

OF 

BEDFORD,  WESTCHESTER, 

ESQUIEE. 

My  Dear  Jay, 

An  unbroken  intimacy  of  four-and-twenty  years  may  jullify 
the  prefent  ufe  of  your  name.  A  man  of  readier  wit  than  myfelf 
might,  on  fuch  a  fubject,  find  an  opportunity  of  faying  fomething 
clever,  concerning  the  exalted  fervices  of  your  father.  No  weak 
teflimony  of  mine,  however,  can  add  to  a  fame  that  belongs 
already  to  pofterity ;  and  one  like  myfelf,  who  has  fo  long  known 
the  merits,  and  has  fo  often  experienced  the  friendlhip,  of  the 
fon,  can  find  even  better  reafons  for  offering  thefe  Legends  to 
your  notice. 

Very  truly  and  conflantly. 
Yours, 

THE  AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


The  mannei  in  whidi  the  author  became  possessed 
of  the  private  incidents,  the  characters,  and  the  descrip- 
tions contained  in  these  tales,  will,  most  probably,  ever 
remain  a  secret  between  himself  and  his  publisher. 
That  the  leading  events  are  true,  he  presumes  it  is  un- 
necessary to  assert;  for  should  inherent  testimony,  to 
prove  that  important  point,  be  wanting,  he  is  conscious 
that  no  anonymous  declaration  can  establish  its  credi- 
bility. 

But  while  he  shrinks  from  directly  yielding  his  au- 
thorities, the  author  has  no  hesitation  in  furnishing  all 
the  negative  testimony  in  his  power. 

In  the  first  place,  then,  he  solemnly  declares  that 
no  unknown  man,  or  woman,  has  ever  died  in  his 
vicinity,  of  whose  effects  he  has  become  the  possessor, 
by  either  fair  means  or  foul.  No  dark-looking  stran- 
ger, of  a  morbid  temperament,  and  of  inflexible  silence, 
has  ever  transmitted  to  him  a  single  page  of  illegible 
manuscript.  Nor  has  any  landlord  furnished  him  with 
materials  to  be  worked  up  into  a  book,  in  order  that 
the  profits  might  go  to  discharge  the  arrearages  of  a 
certain  consumptive  lodger,  who  made  his  exit  so  un- 
ceremoniously as  to  leave  the  last  item  in  his  account, 
his  funeral  charges. 


8  PREFACE. 

He  is  indebted  to  no  garrulous  tale-teller  for  beguil- 
ing the  long  winter  evenings;  in  ghosts  he  has  no 
faith ;  he  never  had  a  vision  in  his  life ;  and  lie  sleeps 
too  soundly  to  dream. 

He  is  constrained  to  add,  that  in  no  "puff,"  ''squib," 
"notice,"  "article,"  or  "review,"  whether  in  daily, 
weekly,  monthly,  or  quarterly  publication,  has  he  been 
able  to  find  a  single  hint  that  his  humble  powers  could 
improve.  No  one  regrets  this  fatality  more  than  him- 
self; for  these  writers  generally  bring  a  weight  of 
imagination  to  their  several  tasks,  that,  properly  im- 
proved, might  secure  the  immortality  of  any  book,  by 
rendering  it  unintelligible. 

He  boldly  asserts,  that  he  has  derived  no  informa- 
tion from  any  of  the  learned  societies — and  without 
fear  of  contradiction;  for  why  should  one  so  obscure 
be  the  exclusive  object  of  their  favors ! 

Notwithstanding  he  occasionally  is  seen  in  that  eru- 
dite and  abstemious  association,  the  "  Bread-and-Cheese 
Lunch,"  where  he  is  elbowed  by  lawyers,  doctors,  ju- 
rists, poets,  painters,  editoi's,  congressmen,  and  authors 
of  every  shade  and  qualification,  whether  metaphysi- 
cal, scientific,  or  imaginative,  he  avers  that  he  esteems 
the  lore  which  is  there  culled,  as  far  too  sacred  to  bo 
used  in  any  work  less  dignified  than  actual  history. 

Of  the  colleges  it  is  necessary  to  speak  with  rever- 
ence ;  though  truth  possesses  claims  even  superior  to 
gratitude.  He  shall  dispose  of  them  by  simply  saying, 
that  they  are  entirely  innocent  of  all  his  blunders ;  the 
little  they  bestowed  having  long  since  been  forgotten. 

He  has  stolen  no  images  from  the  deep,  natural  po- 
etry of  Bryant ;  no  pungency  from  the  wit  of  Halleck ; 
no  felicity  of  expression  from  the  richness  of  Percival ; 


PREFACE. 


9 


no  satire  from  the  caustic  pen  of  Paulding ;  no  periods 
nor  humor  from  Irving;  nor  any  high  finish  from,  the 
attainments  exhibited  by  Verplanck. 

At  the  "  soirees"  and  "  coteries  des  bas  bleus"  he  did 
think  he  had  obtained  a  prize,  in  the  dandies  of  litera- 
ture who  haunt  them.  But  experience  and  analysis 
detected  his  error;  as  they  proved  these  worthies  unfit 
for  any  better  purpose  than  that  which  their  own  in- 
stinct had  already  dictated. 

He  has  made  no  impious  attempt  to  rob  Joe  Miller 
of  his  jokes ;  the  sentimentalists  of  their  pathos ;  or  the 
newspaper  Homers  of  their  lofty  inspirations. 

His  presumption  has  not  even  imagined  the  vivacity 
of  the  Eastern  States ;  he  has  not  analyzed  the  homo- 
geneous character  of  the  Middle ;  and  he  has  left  the 
South  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  all  their  saturnine 
wit 

In  short,  he  has  pilfered  from  no  black-letter  book, 
or  sixpenny  pamphlet ;  his  grandmother  unnaturally  re- 
fused her  assistance  to  his  labors ;  and,  to  speak  affirm- 
atively, for  once,  he  wishes  to  live  in  peace,  and  hopes 
to  die  in  the  fear  of  God. 


INTRODUCTION. 


In  this  tale  there  are  one  or  two  slight  anachronisms ; 
which,  if  unnoticed,  might,  with  literal  readers,  draw 
some  unpleasant  imputations  on  its  veracity.  They 
relate  rather  to  persons  than  to  things.  As  they  are 
believed  to  be  quite  in  character,  connected  with  cir- 
cumstances much  more  probable  than  facts,  and  to 
possess  all  the  harmony  of  poetic  coloring,  the  author 
is  utterly  unable  to  discover  the  reason  why  they  are 
not  true. 

He  leaves  the  knotty  point  to  the  instinctive  sagacity 
of  the  critics. 

The  matter  of  this  "  Legend"  may  be  pretty  equally 
divided  into  that  which  is  publicly,  and  that  which  is 
privately  certain.  For  the  authorities  of  the  latter,  the 
author  refers  to  the  foregoing  preface ;  but  he  cannot 
dispose  of  the  sources  whence  he  has  derived  the  for- 
mer, with  so  little  ceremony. 

The  good  people  of  Boston  are  aware  of  the  credita- 
ble appearance  they  make  in  the  early  annals  of  the 
confederation,  and  they  neglect  no  commendable  means 
to  perpetuate  the  glories  of  their  ancestors.    In  conse- 


12 


INTEODUCTION. 


quence,  the  inquiry  after  historical  facts  is  answered, 
there,  by  an  exhibition  of  local  publications,  that  no 
other  town  in  the  Union  can  equal.  Of  these  means 
the  author  has  endeavored  to  avail  himself;  collating 
with  care,  and  selecting,  as  he  trusts,  with  some  of  that 
knowledge  of  men  and  things  which  is  necessary  to 
present  a  faithful  picture. 

Wherever  he  may  have  failed,  he  has  done  it  hon- 
estly. 

He  will  not  take  leave  of  the  "  Cradle  of  Liberty" 
without  expressing  his  thanks  for  the  facilities  which 
have  been  so  freely  accorded  to  his  undertaking.  It 
he  has  not  been  visited  by  aerial  beings,  and  those  fair 
visions  that  poets  best  love  to  create,  he  is  certain  he 
w^ill  not  be  misconceived  when  he  says  that  he  has 
been  honored  by  the  notice  of  some  resembling  those 
who  first  inspired  their  fancies. 


LIONEL  LINCOLIs; 


CHAPTER  I. 

My  weary  soul  they  seem  to  soothe, 

And,  redolent  of  joy  and  youth, 

To  breathe  a  second  spring.  Gray. 

No  American  can  be  ignorant  of  the  principal  events  that 
induced  the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  in  1 7 74,  to  lay  those 
impolitic  restrictions  on  the  port  of  Boston  which  so  effectually 
destroyed  the  trade  of  the  chief  town  in  her  western  colonies. 
Nor  should  it  be  unknown  to  any  American,  how  nobly,  and 
with  what  devotedness  to  the  great  principles  of  the  controversy, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  adjacent  town  of  Salem  refused  to  profit 
by  the  situation  of  their  neighbors  and  fellow-subjects.  In 
consequence  of  these  impolitic  measures  of  the  English  govern- 
ment, and  of  the  laudable  unanimity  among  the  capitalists  of 
the  times,  it  became  a  rare  sight  to  see  the  canvas  of  any  other 
vessels  than  such  as  wore  the  pennants  of  the  Mng,  whitening 
the  forsaken  waters  of  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Towards  the  decline  of  a  day  in  April,  1775,  however,  the  eyes 
of  hundreds  had  been  fastened  on  a  distant  sail,  v/hich  was  seen 
rising  from  the  bosom  of  the  waves,  making  her  way  along  the 
forbidden  track,  and  steering  directly  for  the  mouth  of  the  pro- 
scribed haven.  "With  that  deep  solicitude  in  passing  events 
which  marked  the  period,  a  large  group  of  spectators  was  col- 
lected on  Beacon  Hill,  spreading  from  its  conical  summit  far 
down  the  eastern  declivity,  all  gazing  intently  on  the  object  of 


14 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


their  common  interest.  In  so  large  an  assemblage,  however, 
there  were  those  who  were  excited  by  very  different  feelings, 
and  indulging  in  wishes  directly  opposite  to  each  other.  "While 
the  decent,  grave,  but  wary  citizen  was  endeavcring  to  conceal 
the  bitterness  of  the  sensations  which  soured  his  mind,  under 
the  apjDearance  of  a  cold  indifference,  a  few  gay  young  men, 
who  mingled  in  the  throng,  bearing  about  their  persons  the  trap- 
pings of  their  martial  profession,  were  loud  in  their  exultations, 
and  hearty  in  their  congratulations  on  the  prospect  of  hearing 
from  their  distant  homes  and  absent  friends.  But  the  long, 
loud  rolls  of  the  drums,  ascending  on  the  evening  air,  from  the 
adjacent  common,  soon  called  these  idle  spectators,  in  a  body, 
from  the  spot,  when  the  hill  was  left  to  the  quiet  possession  of 
those  who  claimed  the  strongest  right  to  its  enjoyment.  It  was 
not,  however,  a  period  for  open  and  unreserved  communications. 
Long  before  the  mists  of  evening  had  succeeded  the  shadows 
thrown  from  the  setting  sun,  the  hill  was  entirely  deserted ;  the 
remainder  of  the  spectators  having  descended  from  the  emi- 
nence, and  held  their  several  courses,  singly,  silent,  and  thought- 
ful, towards  the  rows  of  dusky  roofs  that  covered  the  lowland, 
along  the  eastern  side  of  the  peninsula.  Notwithstanding  this 
appearance  of  apathy,  rumor — which,  in  times  of  great  excite- 
ment, ever  finds  means  to  convey  its  whisperings,  when  it  dare 
not  bruit  its  information  aloud — was  busy  in  circulating  the  un- 
welcome intelligence,  that  the  stranger  was  the  first  of  a  fleet, 
bringing  stores  and  reinforcements  to  an  army  already  too  numer- 
ous, and  too  confident  of  its  power,  to  respect  the  law.  'No 
tumult  or  noise  succeeded  this  unpleasant  annunciation,  but  the 
doors  of  the  houses  were  sullenly  closed,  and  the  windows  dark- 
ened, as  if  the  people  intended  to  express  their  dissatisfaction, 
alone,  by  these  silent  testimonials  of  their  disgust. 

In  the  mean  time  the  ship  had  gained  the  rocky  entrance  to 
the  harbor,  where,  deserted  by  the  breeze,  and  met  by  an  ad- 
verse tide,  she  lay  inactive,  as  if  conscious  of  the  unwelcome 
reception  she  must  receive.    The  fears  of  the  inhabitants  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


16 


Boston  had,  however,  exaggerated  the  danger ;  for  the  vessel, 
instead  of  exhibiting  the  confused  and  disorderly  throng  of  licen- 
tious soldiery  which  would  have  crowded  a  transport,  was  but 
thinly  peopled,  and  her  orderly  decks  were  cleared  of  every  in- 
cumbrance that  could  interfere  with  the  comfort  of  those  she 
did  contain.  There  was  an  appearance  in  the  arrangements  of 
her  external  accommodations  which  would  have  indicated  to  an 
observant  eye  that  she  carried  those  who  claimed  the  rank  or 
possessed  the  means  of  making  others  contribute  largely  to  their 
comforts.  The  few  seamen  who.  navigated  the  ship  lay  extended 
on  different  portions  of  the  vessel,  watching  the  lazy  sails  as 
they  flapped  against  the  masts,  or  indolently  bending  their  looks 
on  the  placid  waters  of  the  bay ;  while  several  menials,  in  livery, 
crowded  around  a  young  man  who  was  putting  his  eager  inqui- 
ries to  the  pilot,  that  had  just  boarded  the  vessel  off  the  Graves. 
The  dress  of  this  youth  was  studiously  neat,  and  from  the  ex- 
cessive pains  bestowed  on  its  adjustment,  it  was  obviously 
deemed,  by  its  wearer,  to  be  in  the  height  of  the  prevailing  cus- 
toms. From  the  place  where  this  inquisitive  party  stood,  nigh 
the  main-mast,  a  wide  sweep  of  the  quarter-deck  was  unten- 
anted ;  but  nearer  to  the  spot  where  the  listless  seaman  hung 
idly  over  the  tiller  of  the  ship,  stood  a  being  of  altogether  dif- 
ferent mould  and  fashion.  He  was  a  man  who  would  have 
seemed  in  the  very  extremity  of  age,  had  not  his  quick,  vigorous 
steps,  and  the  glowing,  rapid  glances  from  his  eyes,  as  he  occa- 
sionally paced  the  deck,  appeared  to  deny  the  usual  indications 
of  many  years.  His  form  was  bowed,  and  attenuated  nearly  to 
emaciation.  His  hair,  which  fluttered  a  little  wildly  around  his 
temples,  was  thin,  and  silvered  to  the  whiteness  of  at  least  eighty 
winters.  Deep  furrows,  like  the  lines  of  great  age  and  long  en- 
dured cares  united,  wrinkled  his  hollow  cheeks,  and  rendered 
the  bold  haughty  outline  of  his  prominent  features  still  more  re- 
markable. He  was  clad  in  a  simple  and  somewhat  tarnished 
suit  of  modest  gray,  which  bore  about  it  the  ill-concealed  marks 
of  long  and  neglected  use.    Whenever  he  turned  his  piercing 


16 


LIONEL  LIKCOLN. 


look  from  the  shores,  lie  moved  swiftly  along  the  deserted 
quarter-deck,  and  seemed  entirely  engrossed  with  the  force  of 
his  own  thoughts,  his  lips  moving  rapidly,  though  no  sounds 
were  heard  to  issue  from  a  mouth  habitually  silent.  He  was 
under-the  influence  of  one  of  those  sudden  impulses  in  which 
the  body,  apparently,  sympathized  so  keenly  vv^ith  the  restless 
activity  of  the  mind,  when  a  young  man  ascended  from  the 
cabin,  and  took  his  stand  among  the  interested  and  excited 
gazers  at  the  land,  on  the  upper  deck.  The  age  of  this  gentle- 
man might  have  been  five-and-twenty.  He  wore  a  military 
cloak,  thrown  carelessly  across  his  form,  which,  in  addition  to 
such  parts  of  his  dress  as  were  visible  through  its  open  folds, 
sufficiently  announced  that  his  profession  was  that  of  arms. 
There  w^as  an  air  of  ease  and  high  fashion  gleaming  about  his 
person,  though  his  speaking  countenance  at  times  seemed  mel- 
ancholy, if  not  sad.  On  gaining  the  deck,  this  young  officer, 
encountering  the  eyes  of  the  aged  and  restless  being  who  trod 
its  planks,  bowed  courteously  before  he  turned  away  to  the 
view,  and  in  his  turn  became  deeply  absorbed  in  studying  its 
fading  beauties. 

The  rounded  heights  of  Dorchester  were  radiant  wdth  the 
rays  of  the  luminary  that  had  just  sunk  behind  their  crest,  and 
streaks  of  paler  light  were  playing  along  the  waters,  and  gilding 
the  green  summits  of  the  islands  which  clustered  across  the 
mouth  of  the  estuary.  Far  in  the  distance  were  to  be  seen  the 
tall  spires  of  the  churches,  rising  out  of  the  deep  shadows  of  the 
town,  with  their  vanes  glittering  in  the  sunbeams,  while  a  few 
rays  of  strong  light  we-re  dancing  about  the  black  beacon,  which 
reared  itself  high  above  the  conical  peak,  that  took  its  name 
from  the  circumstance  of  supporting  this  instrument  of  alarms. 
Several  large  vessels  were  anchored  among  the  islands  and  be- 
fore the  town,  their  dark  hulls  at  each  moment  becoming  less 
distinct  through  the  haze  of  evening,  while  the  summits  of  their 
long  lines  of  masts  were  yet  glowing  with  the  marks  of  day. 
PVom  eacti  of  tjiese  sullen  ships,  from  the  low  fortification  which 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


11 


rose  above  a  small  island  deep  in  tlie  bay,  and  from  various 
elevations  in  the  town  itself,  the  broad  silky  folds  of  the  flag  of 
England  were  yet  waving  in  the  currents  of  the  passing  air. 
The  young  man  was  suddenly  aroused  from  gazing  at  this 
scene  by  the  quick  reports  of  the  evening  guns,  and  while  his 
eyes  were  yet  tracing  the  descent  of  the  proud  symbols  of  the 
Biitish  power  from  their  respective  places  of  display,  he  felt  his 
arm  convulsively  pressed  by  the  hand  of  his  aged  fellow  pas- 
senger. 

"  Will  the  day  ever  arrive,"  said  a  low,  hollow  voice  at  his 
elbow,  "  when  those  flags  shall  be  lowered,  never  to  rise  again 
in  this  hemisphere  ?" 

The  young  soldier  turned  his  quick  eyes  to  the  countenance- 
of  the  speaker,  but  bent  them  instantly  in  embarrassment  on 
the  deck,  to  avoid  the  keen,  searching  glance  he  encountered  in 
the  looks  of  the  other.  A  long,  and,  on  the  part  of  the  young 
man,  a  painful  silence,  succeeded  this  remark.  At  length  the 
youth,  pointing  to  the  land,  said — 

"  Tell  me,  you  who  are  of  Boston,  and  must  have  known  it  so 
long^  the  names  of  all  these  beautiful  places  I  see." 

"  And  are  you  not  of  Boston,  too  ?"  asked  his  old  companion. 

"  Certainly,  by  birth,  but  an  Englishman  by  habit  and  educa- 
tion." 

"  Accursed  be  the  habits,  and  neglected  the  education,  which 
would  teach  a  child  to  forget  its  parentage !"  muttered  the  old 
man,  turning  suddenly,  and  walking  away  so  rapidly  as  to  be 
soon  lost  in  the  forward  parts  of  the  ship. 

For  several  minutes  longer  the  youth  stood  absorbed  in  his 
own  musings,  when,  as  if  recollecting  his  previous  purposes,  he 
called  aloud — "  Meriton !" 

At  the  sounds  of  his  voice  the  curious  group  around  the  pilot 
instantly  separated,  and  the  highly  ornamented  youth,  before 
mentioned,  approached  the  officer  with  a  manner  in  which  pert 
familiarity  and  fearful  respect  were  peculiarly  blended.  With- 
out regarding  the  air  of  the  other,  however,  or  indeed  without 


18 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


e\en  favoring  him  with  a  glance,  the  young  soldier  con 
tinned — 

"I  desired  you  to  detain  the  boat  which  boarded  us,  in 
order  to  convey  me  to  the  town,  Mr.  Meriton ;  see  if  it  be  in 
readiness." 

The  valet  flew  to  execute  this  commission,  and  in  an  instanl 
returned  with  a  reply  in  the  affirmative. 

"  But,  sir,"  he  continued,  "  you  will  never  think  of  going  in 
that  boat,  I  feel  very  much  assured,  sir." 

"  Your  assurance,  Mr.  Meriton,  is  not  the  least  of  your  re- 
commendations ;  why  should  I  not  ?" 

"  That  disagreeable  old  stranger  has  taken  possession  of  it, 
with  his  mean,  filthy  bundle  of  rags ;  and — " 

"  And  what  ?  you  must  name  a  greater  evil,  to  detain  me 
here,  than  mentioning  the  fact  that  the  only  gentleman  in  the 
ship  is  to  be  my  companion." 

"  Lord,  sir  !"  said  Meriton,  glancing  his  eye  upward  in  amaze- 
ment :  "  but,  sir,  surely  you  know  best  as  to  gentility  of  be- 
havior ;  but  as  to  gentility  of  dress — " 

"  Enough  of  this,"  interrupted  his  master,  a  little  angrily ; 
"  the  company  is  such  as  I  am  content  with  :  if  you  find  it  un- 
equal to  your  deserts,  you  have  my  permission  to  remain  in  the 
ship  until  the  morning — the  presence  of  a  coxcomb  is  by  no 
means  necessary  to  my  comfort  for  one  night." 

Without  regarding  the  mortification  of  his  disconcerted  valet, 
the  young  man  passed  along  the  deck  to  the  place  where  the 
boat  was  in  waiting.  By  the  general  movement  among  the  in- 
dolent menials,  and  the  profound  respect  with  which  he  was 
attended  by  the  master  of  the  ship  to  the  gangway,  it  was 
sufficiently  apparent,  that,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  it  was  this 
gentleman  whose  presence  had  exacted  those  arrangements  in 
the  ship,  which  have  been  mentioned.  While  all  around  him, 
however,  were  busy  in  facilitating  the  entrance  of  the  officer 
into  the  boat,  the  aged  stranger  occupied  its  principal  seat,  with 
an  air  of  deep  abstraction,  if  not  of  cool  indifference.    A  hint 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


19 


from  the  pliant  Meriton,  who  had  ventured  to  follow  his  master, 
that  it  would  be  more  agreeable  if  he  would  relinquish  his 
place,  was  disregarded,  and  the  youth  took  a  seat  by  the  side 
of  the  old  man,  with  a  simplicity  of  manner  that  his  valet  in- 
wardly pronounced  abundantly  degrading.  As  if  this  humilia 
tion  were  not  sufficient,  the  young  man,  percei\dng  that  a  general 
pause  had  succeeded  his  own  entrance,  turned  to  his  companion, 
and  courteously  inquired  if  he  were  ready  to  proceed.  A  silent 
wave  of  the  hand  was  the  reply,  when  the  boat  shot  away  from  the 
vessel,  leaving  the  ship  steering  for  an  anchorage  in  Kantasket. 

The  measured  dash  of  the  oars  was  uninterrupted  by  any 
voice,  while,  stemming  the  tide,  they  pulled  laboriously  up 
among  the  islands;  but  by  the  time  they  had  reached  ihQ 
castle,  the  twilight  had  melted  into  the  softer  beams  from  a 
young  moon,  and  the  surrounding  objects  becoming  more  dis- 
tinct, the  stranger  commenced  talking  with  that  quick  and 
startling  vehemence  which  seemed  his  natural  manner.  He 
spoke  of  the  localities  with  the  vehemence  and  fondness  of  an 
enthusiast,  and  with  the  familiarity  of  one  who  had  long  known 
their  beauties.  His  rapid  utterance,  however,  ceased  as  they 
approached  the  naked  wharves,  and  he  sunk  back  gloomily  in 
the  boat,  as  if  unwilling  to  trust  his  voice  on  the  subject  of  his 
country's  wrongs.  Thus  left  to  his  own  thoughts,  the  youth 
gazed  with  eager  interest  at  the  long  ranges  of  buildings,  which 
were  now  clearly  visible  to  the  eye,  though  with  softer  colors 
and  more  gloomy  shadows.  A  few  neglected  and  dismantled 
ships  were  lying  at  different  points ;  but  the  hum  of  business, 
the  forests  of  masts,  and  the  rattling  of  wheels,  which  at  that 
early  hour  should  have  distinguished  the  great  mart  of  the 
colonies,  were  wanting.  In  their  places  were  to  be  heard,  at  in- 
tervals, the  sudden  bursts  of  distant,  martial  music,  the  riotous 
merriment  of  the  soldiery  who  frequented  the  taverns  at  the 
water's  edge,  or  the  sullen  challenges  of  the  sentinels  from  the 
vessels  of  war,  as  they  vexed  the  progress  of  the  few  boats  which 
the  inhabitants  still  used  in  their  ordinary  pursuits. 


20 


LIONEL  LINCOLN* 


"  Here,  indeed,  is  a  change  !"  the  young  officer  exclaimed,  as 
they  glided  swiftly  along  this  desolate  scene ;  "  even  my  recol- 
lections, young  and  fading  as  they  are,  recall  the  difference." 

The  stranger  made  no  reply,  but  a  smile  of  singular  meaning 
gleamed  across  his  wan  features,  imparting,  by  the  moonlight, 
to  their  remarkable  expression,  a  character  of  additional  wild- 
ness.  The  officer  w^as  again  silent,  nor  did  either  speak  until 
the  boat,  having  shot  by  the  end  of  the  long  wharf,  across  whose 
naked  boundaries  a  sentinel  was  pacing  his  measured  path,  in- 
clined more  to  the  shore,  and  soon  reached  the  place  of  its 
destination. 

Whatever  might  have  been  the  respective  feelings  of  the  two 
passengers,  at  having  thus  reached  in  safety  the  object  of  their 
tiresome  and  protracted  voyage,  they  were  not  expressed  in  lan- 
guage. The  old  man  bared  his  silver  locks,  and,  concealing  his 
face  with  his  hat,  stood  as  if  in  deep  mental  thanksgiving  at 
the  termination  of  his  toil,  while  his  more  youthful  companion 
trod  the  wharf  on  wdiich  they  landed  with  the  air  of  a  man  whose 
emotions  were  too  engrossing  for  the  ordinary  use  of  words. 

"  Here  we  must  part,  sir,"  the  officer  at  length  said ;  "  but  I 
trust  the  acquaintance,  which  has  been  thus  accidentally  formed 
betw^een  us,  is  not  to  be  forgotten  now  there  is  an  end  to  our 
common  privations." 

"  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  a  man  whose  days,  like  mine,  are 
numbered,"  returned  the  stranger,  "  to  mock  the  liberality  of 
his  God,  by  any  vain  promises  that  must  depend  on  time  for 
their  fulfilment.  I  am  one,  young  gentleman,  who  has  returned 
from  a  sad,  sad  pilgrimage,  in  the  other  hemisphere,  to  lay  his 
bones  in  this,  his  native  land ;  but  should  many  hours  be  granted 
me,  you  will  hear  further  of  the  man  whom  your  courtesy  and 
kindness  have  so  greatly  obhged." 

•  The  officer  was  sensibly  affected  by  the  softened  but  solemn 
manner  of  his  companion,  and  pressed  his  wasted  hand  fervently 
as  he  answered — 

"  Do ;  I  ask  it  as  a  singular  favor  :  I  know  not  v/hy,  but  you 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


21 


have  obtained  a  command  of  my  feelings  that  no  other  being 
ever  yet  possessed  ;  and  yet — 'tis  a  mystery,  'tis  like  a  dream ; 
I  feel  that  I  not  only  venerate,  but  love  you  !" 

The  old  man  stepped  back,  and  held  the  youth  at  the  length 
of  his  arm  for  a  moment,  while  he  fastened  on  him  a  look  of 
glowing  interest,  and  then,  raising  his  hand  slowly,  he  pointed 
impressively  upward,  and  said — 

"  'Tis  from  heaven,  and  for  God's  own  purposes  :  smother  not 
the  sentiment,  boy,  but  cherish  it  in  your  heart's  core  I" 

The  reply  of  the  youth  was  interrupted  by  sudden  and  vio- 
lent shrieks,  that  burst  rudely  on  the  stillness  of  the  place,  chilling 
the  very  blood  of  those  who  heard  them,  with  their  piteousness. 
The  quick  and  severe  blows  of  a  lash  were  blended  with  the  ex- 
clamations of  the  sufferer ;  and  rude  oaths,  with  hoarse  execra- 
tions, from  various  voices,  were  imited  in  the  uproar,  which 
appeared  to  be  at  no  great  distance.  By  a  common  impulse, 
the  whole  party  broke  away  from  the  spot,  and  moved  rapidly 
up  the  wharf  in  the  direction  of  the  sounds.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  buildings,  a  group  was  seen  collected  around  the 
man,  who  thus  broke  the  charm  of  the  evening  by  his  cries,  in- 
terrupting his  wailings  with  their  ribaldry,  and  encouraging  his 
tormentors  to  proceed. 

"  Mercy,  mercy,  for  the  sake  of  the  blessed  God,  have  mercy, 
and  don't  kill  Job !"  again  shrieked  the  sufferer ;  "  Job  will  run 
your  a'r'nds  !  Job  is  half-witted !  Mercy  on  poor  Job  !  Oh  ! 
you  make  his  flesh  creep !" 

"  I'll  cut  the  heart  from  the  mutinous  knave,"  interrupted  a 
hoarse,  angry  voice.  "To  refuse  to  drink  the  health  of  his 
majesty !" 

"  Job  does  wish  him  good  health — Job  loves  the  king — only 
Job  don't  love  rum." 

The  officer  had  approached  so  nigh  as  to  perceive  that  the 
whole  scene  was  one  of  disorder  and  abuse,  and  pushing  aside 
the  crowd  of  excited  and  deriding  soldiers,  who  composed  tho 
throng,  he  broke  at  once  into  the  centre  of  the  circle. 


22 


LIONEL    LIN  COL  If. 


CHAPTER  II. 

**  They'll  have  me  whipped  for  speaking  true ; 
Thou'lt  have  me  whipped  for  lying; 
And  sometimes  I'm  whipped  for  holding  my  peace. 
I  had  rather  be  any  kind  of  a  thing 
Than  a  fool."  Leak. 

"  What  means  this  outcry?"  demanded  tlie  young  man,  arrest- 
ing the  arm  of  an  infuriated  soldier,  who  was  inflicting  the 
blows ;  "  by  what  authority  is  this  man  thus  abused 

"  By  what  authority  dare  you  to  lay  hands  on  a  British  grena 
dier  ?"  cried  the  fellow,  turning  in  his  fury,  and  raising  his  lash 
against  the  supposed  townsman.  But  when,  as  the  officer 
stepped  aside  to  avoid  the  threatened  indignity,  the  light  of  the 
moon  fell  full  upon  his  glittering  dress,  through  the  opening 
folds  of  his  cloak,  the  arm  of  the  brutal  soldier  was  held  sus- 
pended in  air,  with  the  surprise  of  the  discovery. 

"  Answer,  I  bid  you,"  continued  the  young  officer,  his  frame 
shaking  with  passion ;  "  why  is  this  man  tormented,  and  of  what 
regiment  are  ye 

"  We  belong  to  the  grenadiers  of  the  brave  47th,  yom^  honor," 
returned  one  of  the  bystanders,  in  a  humble,  deprecating  tone, 
"  and  we  was  just  polishing  this  'ere  natural,  because  as  he  re- 
fuses to  drink  the  health  of  his  majesty." 

"  He's  a  scornful  sinner,  that  don't  fear  his  Maker,"  cried  the 
man  in  duresse,  eagerly  bending  his  face,  down  which  big  tears 
were  rolling,  towards  his  protector.  "  Job  loves  the  king,  but 
lob  don't  love  rum !" 

The  officer  turned  away  from  the  cruel  spectacle,  as  he  bid 
the  men  untie  their  prisoner.  Knives  and  fingers  were  instantly 
put  in  requisition,  and  the  man  was  liberated,  and  suffered  to 
resume  his  clothes.    During  this  operation,  the  tumult  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


23 


bustle,  which  had  so  recently  distinguished  the  riotous  scene, 
were  succeeded  by  a  stillness  that  rendered  the  hard  breathing 
of  the  sufferer  painfully  audible. 

"  Now  sirs,  you  heroes  of  the  4'7th !"  said  the  young  man, 
when  the  victim  of  their  rage  was  again  clad,  "  know  you  this 
button  ?"  The  soldier,  to  whom  this  question  was  more  par- 
ticularly addressed,  gazed  at  the  extended  arm,  and,  to  his  vast 
discomfiture,  he  beheld  the  magical  number  of  his  own  regi- 
ment reposing  on  the  well-known  white  facings  that  decorated 
the  rich  scarlet  of  the  vestment.  No  one  presumed  to  answer 
this  appeal,  and  after  an  impressive  silence  of  a  few  moments, 
he  continued — 

"  Ye  are  noble  supporters  of  the  well-earned  fame  of  'Wolfe's 
own  1'  fit  successors  to  the  gallant  men  who  conquered  under 
the  walls  of  Quebec !  Away  with  ye  1  to-morrow  it  shall  be 
looked  to." 

"  I  hope  your  honor  will  remember  he  refused  his  majesty's 
health.  I'm  sure,  sir,  that  if  Colonel  JSTesbitt  was  here  him- 
self—" 

"  Dog !  do  you  dare  to  hesitate !  go,  while  you  have  per 
mission  to  depart." 

The  disconcerted  soldiery,  whose  turbulence  had  thus  van- 
ished, as  if  by  enchantment,  before  the  frown  of  their  superior, 
slunk  away  in  a  body,  a  few  of  the  older  men  whispering  to 
their  comrades  the  name  of  the  officer  who  had  thus  unexpect- 
edly appeared  in  the  midst  of  them.  The  angry  eye  of  the 
young  soldier  followed  their  retiring  forms,  while  a  man  of  them 
was  visible ;  after  which,  turning  to  an  elderly  citizen,  who,  sup- 
ported on  a  crutch,  had  been  a  spectator  of  the  scene,  he 
asked — 

"  Know  you  the  cause  of  the  cruel  treatment  this  poor  man 
has  received ;  or  what  in  any  manner  has  led  to  the  violence  ?" 

"The  boy  is  weak,"  returned  the  cripple ;  "  quite  an  inno- 
cent, who  knows  but  little  good,  but  does  no  harm.  The  sol- 
diers have  been  carousing  in  yonder  dram-shop,  and  they  often 


24 


LIONEL  LINCOLM. 


get  the  poor  lad  in  with  them,  and  sport  with  his  infirmity.  If 
these  sorts  of  doings  an't  checked,  I  fear  much  trouble  will  grow 
out  of  them  !  Hard  laws  from  t'other  side  of  the  water,  and 
tarring  and  feathering  on  this,  with  gentlemen  like  Colonel  Nes- 
bitt  at  their  head,  will — " 

"  It  is  wisest  for  us,  my  friend,  to  pursue  this  subject  no 
further,"  interrupted  the  officer.  "  I  belong  myself  to  '  Wolfe's 
own,'  and  will  endeavor  to  see  justice  done  in  the  matter ;  as 
you  will  credit  when  I  tell  you  that  I  am  a  Boston  boy.  But, 
though  a  native,  a  long  absence  has  obliterated  the  marks  of  the 
town  from  my  memory ;  and  I  am  at  a  loss  to  thread  these 
crooked  streets.    Know  you  the  dwelling  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  ?" 

"  The  house  is  well  known  to  all  in  Boston,"  returned  the 
cripple,  in  a  voice  sensibly  altered  by  the  information  that  he 
was  speaking  to  a  townsman.  "  Job,  here,  does  but  little  else 
than  run  of  errands,  and  he  will  show  you  the  way  out  of  grat- 
itude ;  won't  you.  Job 

The  idiot, — for  the  vacant  eye  and  unmeaning,  boyish  counte- 
aance  of  the  young  man  who  had  just  been  liberated,  but  too 
plainly  indicated  that  he  was  to  be  included  in  that  miserable 
class  of  human  beings, — answered  with  a  caution  and  reluctance 
that  were  a  httle  remarkable,  considering  the  recent  circum- 
stances. 

"  Ma'am  Lechmere's  !  Oh  !  yes.  Job  knows  the  way,  and 
could  go  there  blindfolded,  if — if — " 

"  If  what,  you  simpleton  ?"  exclaimed  the  zealous  cripple. 
"Why,  if 'twas  daylight." 

"  Blindfolded,  and  daylight !  do  but  hear  the  silly  child  1 
Come,  Job,  you  must  take  this  gentleman  to  Tremont-street, 
without  further  words.  'Tis  but  just  sundown,  boy,  and  you 
can  go  there  and  be  home  and  in  your  bed  before  the  Old  South 
strikes  eight !" 

"  Yes ;  that  all  depends  on  which  way  you  go,"  returned  the 
reluctant  changeling.  "  Now,  I  know,  neighbor  Hopper,  you 
couldn't  go  to  Ma'am  Lechmere's  in  an  hour,  if  you  went  along 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


26 


Lynn-street,  and  so  along  Prince-street,  and  back  througli  Snow- 
Hill  ;  and  especially  if  you  should  stop  any  time  to  look  at  the 
graves  on  Copps." 

"Pshaw  1  the  fool  is  in  one  of  his  sulks  now,  with  his  Copps- 
Hill,  and  the  graves  !"  interrupted  the  cripple,  whose  heart  had 
warmed  to  his  youthful  townsman,  and  who  would  have  volun- 
teered to  show  the  way  himself,  had  his  infirmities  permitted 
the  exertion.  "  The  gentleman  must  call  the  grenadiers  back, 
to  bring  the  child  to  reason." 

"  'Tis  quite  unnecessary  to  be  harsh  with  the  unfortunate 
lad,"  said  the  young  soldier ;  "  my  recollections  will  probably 
aid  me  as  I  advance ;  and  should  they  not,  I  can  inquire  of  any 
passenger  I  meet." 

"  If  Boston  was  what  Boston  has  been,  you  might  ask  such 
a  question  of  a  civil  inhabitant,  at  any  corner,"  said  the  cripple ; 
"  but  it's  rare  to  see  many  of  our  people  in  the  streets  at  this 
hour,  since  the  massacre.  Besides,  it  is  Saturday  night,  you 
know ;  a  fit  time  for  these  rioters  to  choose  for  their  revelries ! 
For  that  matter,  the  soldiers  have  grown  more  insolent  .than 
ever,  since  they  have  met  that  disappointment  about  the  cannon 
down  at  Salem ;  but  I  needn't  tell  such  as  you  what  the  soldiers 
are  when  they  get  a  little  savage." 

"  I  know  my  comrades  but  indifierently  well,  if  their  conduct 
to-night  be  any  specimen  of  their  ordinary  demeanor,  sir,"  re- 
turned the  officer  :  "  but  follow,  Meriton ;  I  apprehend  no  great 
difficulty  in  our  path." 

The  pliant  valet  lifted  the  cloak-bag  he  carried,  from  the 
ground,  and  they  were  about  to  proceed,  when  the  natural 
edged  himself  in  a  sidelong,  slovenly  manner,  nigher  to  the 
gentleman,  and  looked  earnestly  up  in  his  face  for  a  moment, 
where  he  seemed  to  be  gathering  confidence  to  say — "  Job  will 
show  the  officer  Ma'am  Lechmere's,  if  the  officer  won't  let  the 
grannies  catch  Job  afore  he  gets  off  the  North  End  ag'in." 

"  Ah !"  said  the  young  man,  laughing,  "  there  is  something 
of  the  cunning  of  a  fool  in  that  arrangement.    Well,  I  accept 

2 


26 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


the  conditions ;  but  beware  bow  you  take  me  to  contemplate 
the  graves  by  moonlight,  or  I  shall  deliver  you  not  only  to  the 
grannies,  but  to  the  light  infantry,  artillery,  and  all." 

With  this  good-natured  threat,  the  officer  followed  his  nim- 
ble conductor,  after  taking  a  friendly  leave  of  the  obhging 
cripple,  who  continued  his  admonitions  to  the  natural,  not  to 
w^ander  from  the  direct  route,  while  the  sounds  of  his  voice 
were  audible  to  the  retiring  party.  The  progress  of  his  guide 
was  so  rapid  as  to  require  the  young  officer  to  confine  his  sur- 
vey of  the  narrow  and  crooked  streets  through  which  they 
passed,  to  extremely  hasty  and  imperfect  glances.  No  very 
minute  observation,  however,  was  necessary  to  perceive  that  he 
was  led  along  one  of  the  most  filthy  and  inferior  sections  of  the 
town ;  and  where,  notwithstanding  his  efforts,  he  found  it  im- 
possible to  recall  a  single  feature  of  his  native  place  to  his  re- 
membrance. The  complaints  of  Meriton,  who  followed  close  at 
the  heels  of  his  master,  were  loud  and  frequent,  until  the  gen- 
tleman, a  little  doubting  the  sincerity  of  his  intractable  conduct- 
or, exclaimed — 

"  Have  you  nothing  better  than  this  to  show  a  townsman, 
who  has  been  absent  seventeen  years,  on  his  return  ?  Pray  let 
us  go  through  some  better  streets  than  this,  if  any  there  are  in 
Boston  which  can  be  called  better." 

The  lad  stopped  short,  and  looked  up  in  the  face  of  the 
speaker,  for  an  instant,  with  an  air  of  undisguised  amazement, 
and  then,  without  replying,  he  changed  the  direction  of  his 
route,  and  after  one  or  two  more  deviations  in  his  path,  suddenly 
turning  again,  he  glided  up  an  alley,  so  narrow  that  the  passen 
ger  might  touch  the  buildings  on  either  side  of  him.  The  officer 
hesitated  an  instant  to  enter  this  dark  and  crooked  passage,  but 
perceiving  that  his  guide  was  already  hid  by  a  bend  in  the 
liouses,  he  quickened  his  steps,  and  immediately  regained  the 
ground  he  had  lost.  They  soon  emerged  from  the  obscurity  of 
the  place,  and  issued  on  a  street  of  greater  width. 

"There  1"  said  Job,  triumphantly,  when  they  had  efiected  this 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


27 


gloomy  passage,  "  does  the  king  live  in  so  crooked  and  narrow 
a  street  as  that  ?" 

"  His  majesty  must  yield  the  point  in  your  favor,"  returned 
the  officer. 

"  Ma'am  Lechmere  is  a  grand  lady  !"  continued  the  lad,  seem- 
ingly following  the  current  of  his  own  fanciful  conceits,  "  aiii 
she  wouldn't  live  in  that  alley  for  the  w^orld,  though  it  is  nar- 
row, like  the  road  to  heaven,  as  old  Is  ab  says ;  I  suppose  they 
call  it  after  the  Methodies  for  that  reason." 

"I  have  heard  the  road  you  mention  termed  narrow,  certainly, 
but  it  is  also  called  strait,''''  returned  the  officer,  a  little  amused 
with  the  humor  of  the  lad ;  "  but  forward,  the  time  is  slipping 
away,  and  we  loiter." 

Again  Job  turned,  and  moving  onward,  he  led  the  way,  with 
swift  steps,  along  another  narrow  and  crooked  path,  which, 
however,  better  deserved  the  name  of  a  street,  under  the  pro- 
jecting stories  of  the  wooden  buildings,  which  lined  its  sides. 
After  following  the  irregular  windings  of  their  route  for  some 
distance,  they  entered  a  triangular  area,  of  a  few  rods  in  extent, 
where  Job,  disregarding  the  use  of  the  narrow  walk,  advanced 
directly  into  the  centre  of  the  open  space.  Here  he  stopped 
once  more,  and,  turning  his  vacant  face  with  an  air  of  much 
seriousness  towards  a  building  which  composed  one  side  of  the 
triangle,  he  said,  with  a  voice  that  expressed  his  own  deep  ad- 
miration— 

"  There — that's  the  *  Old  North  !'  did  you  ever  see  such  a 
meetin'us'  afore  ?  does  the  king  worship  God  in  such  a  temple?'^ 

The  officer  did  not  chide  the  idle  liberties  of  the  fool,  for  in 
the  antiquated  and  quiet  architecture  of  the  wooden  edifice,  he 
recognized  one  of  those  early  efforts  of  the  simple,  puritan 
builders,  whose  rude  tastes  have  been  transmitted  to  their  pos- 
terity with  so  many  deviations  in  the  style  of  the  same  school, 
but  so  little  of  improvement.  Blended  with  these  considera- 
tions, were  the  dawnings  of  revived  recollections ;  and  he  smile(J, 
as  he  recalled  the  tina^  when  he  also  used  to  look  up  at  tho 


28 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


building  with,  feelings  somewliat  allied  to  the  profound  admira- 
tion of  the  idiot.  Job  watched  his  countenance  narrowly,  and 
easily  mistaking  its  expression,  he  extended  his  arm  towards  one 
of  the  narrowest  of  the  avenues  that  entered  the  area,  where 
stood  a  few  houses  of  more  than  common  pretension. 

"  And  there  ag'in  I"  he  continued  ;  "  there's  palaces  for  you ! 
stingy  Tommy  lived  in  the  one  with  the  pile-axters,  and  the 
flowers  hanging  to  their  tops ;  and  see  the  crowns  on  them,  too! 
stingy  Tommy  loved  crowns,  they  say ;  but  Province'us'  wasn't 
good  enough  for  him,  and  he  lived  here — now  they  say  he  lives 
in  one  of  the  king's  cupboards  !" 

"  And  who  was  stingy  Tommy  ?  and  what  right  had  he  to 
dwell  in  Province  House,  if  he  would  ?" 

"  What  right  has  any  governor  to  live  in  Province'us'  ?  be- 
cause it's  the  king's,  though  the  people  paid  for  it !" 

"  Pray,  sir,  excuse  me,"  said  Meriton,  from  behind ;  "  but  do 
the  Americans  usually  call  all  their  governors  stingy  Tommies?" 

The  officer  turned  his  head  at  this  vapid  question  from  his 
valet,  and  perceived  that  he  had  been  accompanied  thus  far  by 
the  aged  stranger,  who  stood  at  his  elbow,  leaning  on  his  staff, 
studying  with  close  attention  the  late  dwelling  of  Hutchinson, 
while  the  light  of  the  moon  fell,  unobstructed,  on  the  deep  lines 
of  his  haggard  face.  During  the  first  surprise  of  this  discovery 
he  forgot  to  reply,  and  Job  took  the  vindication  of  his  language 
into  his  own  hands. 

"  To  be  sure  they  do — they  call  people  by  their  right  names," 
he  said.  "  Insygn  Peck  is  called  Insygn  Peck ;  and  you  call 
Deacon  Winslow  any  thing  but  Deacon  Winslow,  and  see  what 
a  look  he'll  give  you  !  and  I  am  Job  Pray,  so  called ;  and  why 
sliouldn't  a  governor  be  called  stingy  Tommy,  if  he  is  a  stingy 
l\)mmy  ?" 

"  Be  careful  how  you  speak  lightly  of  the  king's  representa- 
tive," said  the  young  officer,  raising  his  light  cane  with  the  afiec- 
tation  of  correcting  the  changeling.  "  Forget  you  that  I  am  a 
Boldier  p 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


29 


The  idiot  shrunk  back  a  iittle,  timidly,  and  then  leering  from 
under  his  sunken  brow,  he  answered — 

"  I  heard  you  say  you  w^ere  a  Boston  boy." 

The  gentleman  was  about  to  make  a  playful  reply,  when  the 
aged  stranger  passed  swiftly  before  him,  and  took  his  stand  at 
the  side  of  the  lad  with  a  manner  so  remarkable  for  its  earnest- 
ness that  it  entirely  changed  the  current  of  his  thoughts. 

The  young  man  knows  the  ties  of  blood  and  country,"  the 
stranger  muttered,  "  and  I  honor  him  !" 

It  might  have  been  the  sudden  recollection  of  the  danger  of 
those  allusions,  which  the  officer  so  well  understood,  and  to 
which  his  accidental  association  with  the  singular  being  who 
uttered  them  had  begun  to  familiarize  his  ear,  that  induced  the 
youth  to  resume  his  walk,  silently,  and  in  deep  thought,  along 
the  street.  By  this  movement  he  escaped  observing  the  cordial 
grasp  of  the  hand  which  the  old  stranger  bestowed  on  the  idiot, 
while  he  muttered  a  few  more  terms  of  commendation.  Job 
soon  took  his  station  in  front,  and  the  whole  party  moved  on 
again,  though  with  less  rapid  strides.  As  the  lad  advanced 
deeper  into  the  town  he  evidently  wavered  once  or  twice  in  his 
choice  of  streets,  and  the  officer  began  to  suspect  that  the 
changeling  contemplated  one  of  his  wild  circuits,  to  avoid  the 
direct  route  to  a  house  that  he  manifestly  approached  with  great 
reluctance.  Once  or  twice  the  young  soldier  looked  about  him, 
intending  to  inquire  the  direction  of  the  first  passenger  he  might 
see ;  but  the  quiet  of  deep  night  already  pervaded  the  place,  and 
not  an  individual,  but  those  who  accompanied  him,  appeared  in 
the  long  ranges  of  streets  they  had  passed.  The  air  of  the  guide 
was  becoming  so  dogged  and  hesitating  that  his  follower  had 
just  determined  to  make  an  application  at  one  of  the  doors, 
when  they  emerged  from  a  dark,  dirty,  and  gloomy  street  on  an 
open  space  of  much  greater  extent  than  the  one  they  had  so 
recently  left.  Passing  under  the  walls  of  a  blackened  dwelhng, 
J ob  led  the  way  to  the  centre  of  a  swinging  bridge,  which  was 
thrown  across  an  inlet  from  the  harbor,  that  extended  a  short 


30 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


distance  into  the  area,  forming  a  shallow  dock.  Here  he  tool^ 
his  stand,  and  allowed  the  view  of  the  surrounding  objects  to 
work  its  own  effect  on  those  he  had  conducted  thither.  The 
square  was  composed  of  rows  of  low,  gloomy,  and  irregular 
houses,  most  of  which  had  the  appearance  of  being  but  little 
used.  Stretching  from  the  end  of  the  basin,  and  a  little  on  one 
side,  a  long  narrow  edifice,  ornamented  with  pilasters,  perforated 
with  arched  windows,  and  surmounted  by  a  humble  cupola, 
reared  its  walls  of  brick  under  the  light  of  the  moon.  The  story 
which  held  the  rows  of  silent,  glistening  windows,  was  supported 
on  abutments  and  arches  of  the  same  material,  through  the 
narrow  vistas  of  which  were  to  be  seen  the  shambles  of  the 
common  market-place.  Heavy  cornices  of  stone  were  laid 
above  and  beneath  the  pilasters,  and  something  more  than  the 
unskilful  architecture  of  the  dwelling-houses  they  had  passed 
was  affected  throughout  the  whole  structure.  While  the  officer 
gazed  at  this  scene  the  idiot  watched  his  countenance  with  a 
keenness  exceeding  his  usual  observation,  until,  impatient  at 
hearing  no  words  of  pleasure  or  of  recognition,  he  exclaimed — 

"  If  you  don't  know  Funnel  Hall,  you  are  no  Boston  boy  !" 

"  But  I  do  know  Faneuil  Hall,  and  I  am  a  Boston  boy,"  re- 
turned the  amused  gentleman.  "  The  place  begins  to  freshen 
on  my  memory,  and  I  now  recall  the  scenes  of  my  child- 
hood." 

This,  then,"  said  the  aged  stranger,  "  is  the  spot  where  lib- 
erty has  found  so  many  bold  advocates !" 

"  It  would  do  the  king's  heart  good  to  hear  the  people  talk 
iu  old  Funnel,  sometimes,"  said  Job.  "I  was  on  the  cornishes, 
and  looked  into  the  winders,  the  last  town-meetin'-da',  and  if 
there  was  soldiers  on  the  common,  there  was  them  in  the  hall 
that  didn't  care  for  them  !" 

"  All  this  is  very  amusing,  no  doubt,"  said  the  officer,  gravely, 
but  it  does  not  advance  me  a  foot  on  my  way  to  Mrs.  Lech- 
mere's." 

"It  is  also  instructing,"  exclaimed  the  stranger;  "go  on^ 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


31 


child :  I  love  to  hear  his  simple  feelings  thus  expressed ;  they 
indicate  the  state  of  the  public  mind." 

"  Why,'^  said  Job,  "  they  were  plain-spoken,  that's  all ;  and  it 
would  be  better  for  the  king  to  come  over  and  hear  them ;  it 
would  pull  down  his  pride,  and  make  him  pity  the  people,  and 
then  he  wouldn't  think  of  shutting  up  Boston  harbor.  Suppose 
he  should  stop  the  water  from  coming  in  by  the  Narrows,  why, 
we  should  get  it  by  Broad  Sound !  and  if  it  didn't  come  by 
Broad  Sound,  it  would  by  Nantasket !  He  needn't  think  that 
the  Boston  folks  are  so  dumb  as  to  be  cheated  out  of  God's 
water  by  acts  of  Parliament,  while  old  Funnel  stands  in  the 
Dock  Square  !" 

"  Sirrah !"  exclaimed  the  officer,  a  little  angrily,  "  we  have 
already  loitered  until  the  clocks  are  striking  eight." 

The  idiot  lost  his  animation,  and  lowered  in  his  looks  again, 
as  he  answered — 

"Well,  I  told  neighbor  Hopper  there  was  more  ways  to 
Ma'am  Lechmere's  than  straight  forward  ;  but  everybody  knows 
Job's  business  better  than  Job  himself.  Now  you  make  me  for- 
get the  road :  let  us  go  in  and  ask  old  Nab ;  she  knows  the 
way  too  well !" 

"  Old  Nab  !  you  wilful  dolt !  who  is  Nab,  and  what  have  I  to 
do  with  any  but  yourself?" 

"  Everybody  in  Boston  knows  Abigail  Pray." 

"  What  of  her  ?"  asked  the  startling  voice  of  the  stranger ; 
"  what  of  Abigail  Pray,  boy  ?  is  she  not  honest  ?" 

"  Yes,  as  poverty  can  make  her,"  returned  the  natural,  gloom- 
ily :  "  now  the  king  has  said  there  shall  be  no  goods  but  tea 
sent  to  Boston,  and  the  people  won't  have  the  bohea,  it's  easy 
living  rent  free.  Nab  keeps  her  huckster  stuff  in  the  old 
ware'us',  and  a  good  place  it  is,  too.  Job  and  his  mother  have 
each  a  room  to  sleep  in,  and  they  say  the  king  and  queen 
haven't  more !" 

While  he  was  speaking,  the  eyes  of  h's  listeners  were  drawn 
by  his  gestures  towards  the  singular  edifice  to  which  he  alluded. 


32 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Like  most  of  the  otliers  adjacent  to  tlie  square,  it  was  low,  old, 
dirty,  and  dark.  Its  shape  was  triangular,  a  street  bounding  it 
on  each  side,  and  its  extremities  were  flanked  by  as  many  low 
hexagonal  towers,  which  terminated,  like  the  main  building 
itself,  in  high  pointed  roofs,  tiled,  and  capped  with  rude  orna- 
ments. Long  ranges  of  small  windows  were  to  be  seen  in  the 
dusky  walls,  through  one  of  which  the  light  of  a  solitary  candle 
was  ghmmering,  the  only  indication  of  the  presence  of  life  about 
the  sihnt  and  gloomy  building. 

"  ]^ab  knows  Ma'am  Lechmere  better  than  Job,"  continued 
the  idiot,  after  a  moment's  pause,  "  and  she  will  know  whether 
Ma'am  Lechmere  will  have  Job  whipped  for  bringing  company 
on  Saturday  night,  though  they  say  she's  so  full  of  scoffery  as 
to  talk,  drink  tea,  and  laugh  on  that  night,  just  the  same  as 
any  other  time." 

"  I  will  pledge  myself  to  her  courteous  treatment,"  the  officer 
replied,  beginning  to  be  weary  of  the  fool's  delay. 

"Let  us  see  this  Abigail  Pray,"  cried  the  aged  stranger, 
suddenly  seizing  Job  by  the  arm,  and  leading  him,  with  a  sort 
of  irresistible  power,  towards  the  walls  of  the  building,  through 
one  of  the  low  doors  of  which  they  immediately  disappeared. 

Thus  left  on  the  bridge,  with  his  valet,  the  young  officer  hesi- 
tated a  single  instant  how  to  act ;  but  yielding  to  the  secret  and 
powerful  interest  which  the  stranger  had  succeeded  in  throwing 
around  all  his  movements  and  opinions,  he  bade  Meriton  await 
his  return,  and  followed  his  guide  and  the  old  man  into  the 
cheerless  habitation  of  the  former.  On  passing  the  outer  door 
he  found  himself  in  a  spacious  but  rude  apartment,  which,  from 
its  appearance,  as  well  as  from  the  few  articles  of  heavy  but 
valueless  merchandise  it  now  contained,  would  seem  to  have 
be^^n  used  once  as  a  storehouse.  The  light  drew  his  steps  to- 
wards a  room  in  one  of  the  towers,  where,  as  he  approached  its 
open  door,  he  heard  the  loud  sharp  tones  of  a  woman's  voice, 
exclaiming — 

Where  have  you  been,  graceless,  this  Saturday  night? 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


33 


tagging  at  the  heels  of  the  soldiers,  or  gazing  at  the  men-of-war, 
with  their  ungodlj  fashions  of  music  and  revelry  at  such  a  time, 
I  dare  to  say !  and  you  knew  that  a  ship  was  in  the  bay,  and 
that  Madam  Lechmere  had  desired  me  to  send  her  the  first  no- 
tice of  its  arrival.  Here  have  I  been  waiting  for  you  to  go  up 
to  Tremont-street  since  sundown,  with  the  news,  and  you  are 
out  of  call — you,  that  know  so  well  who  it  is  she  expects  1" 

"  Don't  be  cross  to  J ob,  mother,  for  the  grannies  have  been 
cutting  his  back  with  cords  till  the  blood  runs !  Ma'am  Lech- 
mere !  I  do  believe,  mother,  that  Ma'am  Lechmere  has  moved ; 
for  I've  been  trying  to  find  her  house  this  hour,  because  there's 
a  gentleman  who  landed  from  the  ship  wanted  Job  to  show  him 
the  way." 

"  What  means  the  ignorant  boy  ?"  exclaimed  his  mother. 

"  He  alludes  to  me,"  said  the  officer,  entering  the  apartment ; 
"  I  am  the  person,  if  any,  expected  by  Mrs.  Lechmere,  and  have 
just  landed  from  the  Avon,  of  Bristol ;  but  your  son  has  led  me 
a  circuitous  path,  indeed ;  at  one  time  he  spoke  of  visiting  the 
graves  on  Copp's  Hill." 

"Excuse  the  ignorant  and  witless  child,  sir,"  exclaimed  the 
matron,  eyeing  the  young  man  keenly  through  her  spectacles ; 
"  he  knows  the  way  as  well  as  to  his  own  bed,  but  he  is  wilful 
at  times.  This  will  be  a  joyful  night  in  Tremont-street !  So 
handsome,  and  so  stately,  too  1  Excuse  me,  young  gentleman," 
she  added,  raising  the  candle  to  his  features  with  an  evident 
unconsciousness  of  the  act — "he  has  the  sweet  smile  of  the 
mother,  and  the  terrible  eye  of  his  father !  God  forgive  us  all 
our  sins,  and  make  us  happier  in  another  world  than  in  this 
place  of  evil  and  wickedness!"  As  she  muttered  the  latter 
words,  the  woman  set  aside  her  candle  with  an  air  of  singular 
agitation.  Each  syllable,  notwithstanding  her  secret  intention, 
was  heard  by  the  officer,  across  whose  countenance  there  passed 
a  sudden  gloom  that  doubled  its  sad  expression.  He,  however, 
said — 

*'  You  know  me  and  my  family,  then  ?" 


34 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  I  was  at  your  birth,  young  gentleman,  and  a  joyful  birth  it 
was !  but  Madam  Lechmere  waits  for  the  news,  and  my  unfor- 
tunate child  shall  speedily  conduct  you  to  her  door  ;  she  will 
tell  you  all  that  it  is  proper  to  know.  Job,  you  Job,  where  are 
you  getting  to,  in  that  corner  ?  take  your  hat,  and  show  the 
gentleman  to  Tremont-street  directly :  you  know,  my  son,  you 
love  to  go  to  Madam  Lechmere's." 

"  J ob  would  never  go,  if  Job  could  help  it,"  muttered  the  sul- 
len boy ;  "and  if  Nab  had  never  gone,  'twould  have  been  better 
for  her  soul." 

"Do  you  dare,  disrespectful  viper!"  exclaimed  the  angry 
quean,  seizing,  in  the  violence  of  her  fury,  the  tongs,  and  threat- 
ening the  head  of  her  stubborn  child. 

"  Woman,  peace  !"  said  a  voice  behind. 

The  dangerous  weapon  fell  from  the  nerveless  hand  of  the 
\dxen,  and  the  hues  of  her  yellow  and  withered  countenance 
changed  to  the  whiteness  of  death.  She  stood  motionless  for 
near  a  minute,  as  if  riveted  to  the  spot  by  a  superhuman  power, 
before  she  succeeded  in  muttering,  "  Who  speaks  to  me  ?" 

"  It  is  I,"  returned  the  stranger,  advancing  from  the  shadow 
of  the  door  into  the  dim  light  of  the  candle ;  "  a  man  who  has 
numbered  ages,  and  who  knows,  that  as  God  loves  him,  so  is  he 
bound  to  love  the  children  of  his  loins." 

The  rigid  limbs  of  the  woman  lost  their  stability  in  a  tremor 
that  shook  every  fibre  in  her  body ;  she  sunk  in  her  chair,  and 
her  eyes  rolled  from  the  face  of  one  visitor  to  that  of  the  other, 
while  her  unsuccessful  efforts  to  utter,  denoted  that  she  had 
temporarily  lost  the  command  of  speech.  Job  stole  to  the  side 
of  the  stranger,  in  this  short  interval,  and  looking  up  in  his  face 
piteously,  he  said — 

"  Don't  hurt  old  Nab — read  that  good  saying  to  her  out  of 
the  Bible,  and  she'll  never  strike  Job  with  the  tongs  ag'in ;  will 
you,  mother  ?  See  her  cup,  where  she  hid  it  under  the  towel, 
when  you  came  in !  Ma'am  Lechmere  gives  her  the  p'ison 
tea  to  drink,  and  then  Nab  is  never  so  good  to  Job  as  Job 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


35 


would  be  to  mother,  if  mother  was  half-witted,  and  Job  was 
old  Nab." 

The  stranger  considered  the  moving  countenance  of  the  boy, 
while  he  pleaded  thus  earnestly  in  behalf  of  his  mother,  with 
marked  attention,  and  when  he  had  done,  he  stroked  the  head 
of  the  natural  compassionately,  and  said — 

"  Poor,  imbecile  child !  God  has  denied  the  most  precious 
of  his  gifts,  and  yet  his  Spirit  hovers  around  thee ;  for  thou 
canst  distinguish  between  austerity  and  kindness,  and  thou  hast 
learnt  to  know  good  from  evil.  Young  man,  see  you  no  moral 
in  this  dispensation  ?  nothing  which  says  that  Providence  be- 
stows no  gift  in  vain ;  while  it  points  to  the  difference  between 
the  duty  that  is  fostered  by  indulgence,  and  that  which  is  ex- 
torted by  power  ?" 

The  officer  avoided  the  ardent  looks  of  the  stranger,  and  after 
an  embarrassing  paus^  of  a  moment,  he  expressed  his  readiness, 
to  the  reviving  woman,  to  depart  on  his  way.  The  matron, 
whose  eye  had  never  ceased  to  dwell  on  the  features  of  the  old 
man,  since  her  faculties  were  restored,  arose  slowly,  and  in  a 
feeble  voice  directed  her  son  to  show  the  road  to  Tremont-street. 
She  had  acquired,  by  long  practice,  a  manner  that  never  failed 
to  control,  when  necessary,  the  wayward  humors  of  her  child, 
and  on  the  present  occasion,  the  unwonted  solemnity  imparted 
to  her  voice  by  deep  agitation,  aided  in  eflfecting  her  object. 
Job  quietly  arose  and  prepared  himself  to  comply.  The  man- 
ners of  the  whole  party  wore  a  restraint,  which  implied  they 
had  touched  on  feelings  that  it  would  be  wiser  to  smother,  and 
the  separation  would  have  been  silent,  though  courteous,  on  the 
part  of  the  youth,  had  he  not  perceived  the  passage  still  filled  by 
the  motionless  form  of  the  stranger. 

"  You  will  precede  me,  sir,"  he  said :  "  the  hour  grows  late, 
and  you,  too,  may  need  a  guide  to  find  your  dwelling." 

"  To  me  the  streets  of  Boston  have  long  been  familiar,"  re- 
turned the  old  man.  "  I  have  noted  the  increase  of  the  town 
as  the  parent  notes  the  increasing  stature  of  his  child ;  nor  is 


36 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


my  love  for  it  less  than  paternal.  It  is  enough  that  I  am  within 
its  limits,  where  liberty  is  prized  as  the  greatest  good ;  and  it 
matters  not  imder  what  roof  I  lay  my  head — this  will  do  as  well 
as  another." 

"  This  1"  echoed  the  other,  glancing  his  eyes  over  the  misera- 
ble fm^niture,  and  scanning  the  air  of  poverty  that  pervaded  the 
place ;  "  why,  this  house  has  even  less  of  comfort  than  the  ship 
we  have  left !" 

"  It  has  enough  for  my  wants,"  said  the  stranger,  seating  him- 
self with  composure,  and  deliberately  placing  his  bundle  by  his 
side.  "  Go  you  to  your  palace  in  Tremont-street :  it  shall  be 
my  care  that  we  meet  again." 

The  oflScer  understood  the  character  of  his  companion  too 
well  to  hesitate,  and  bending  low,  he  quitted  the  apartment, 
leaving  the  other  leaning  his  head  on  his  cane,  in  absent  musing, 
while  the  amazed  matron  was  gazing  at  her  unexpected  guest 
with  a  wonder  that  was  not  unmingled  with  dread. 


JLIONEL  LINCOLN. 


37 


CHAPTER  III. 

*'From  silver  spouts  the  grateful  liquors  glide, 
While  Ctiina's  earth  receives  the  smoking  tide : 
At  once  they  gratify  their  scent  and  taste, 
And  frequent  cups  prolong  the  rich  repast." 

Eape  of  the  Look. 

The  recollection  of  tlie  repeated  admonitions  of  his  raother 
served  to  keep  Job  to  liis  purpose.  The  instant  the  officer  ap- 
peared, he  held  his  way  across  the  bridge,  and  after  proceeding 
for  a  short  distance  farther  along  the  water's  ed»ge,  they  entered 
a  broad  and  well-built  avenue,  which  led  from  the  principal 
wharf  into  the  upper  parts  of  the  town.  Turning  up  this  street, 
the  lad  was  making  his  way,  with  great  earnestness,  when  sounds 
of  high  merriment  and  conviviality,  breaking  from  an  opposite 
building,  caught  his  attention,  and  induced  him  to  pause. 

"Eemember  your  mother's  injunction,"  said  the  officer; 
"  what  see  you  in  that  tavern  to  stare  at  ?" 

"  'Tis  the  British  Coffee  House,"  said  Job,  shaking  his  head ; 
"  yes,  anybody  might  know  that  by  the  noise  they  make  in't  on 
Saturday  night !  See !  it's  filled  now  with  Lord  Boot's  officers, 
flaring  afore  the  windows,  just  like  so  many  red  devils ;  but  to- 
morrow, when  the  Old  South  bell  rings,  they'll  forget  their  Lord 
and  Maker,  every  sinner  among  them !" 

"  Fellow !"  exclaimed  the  officer,  "  this  is  trespassing  too  far — 
proceed  to  Tremont-street,  or  leave  me,  that  I  may,  at  once,  pro- 
cure another  guide." 

The  changeling  cast  a  look  aside  at  the  angry  eye  of  the 
other,  and  then  turned  and  proceeded,  muttering  so  loud  as  to  be 
overheard — 

"Every  boy  that's  raised  in  Boston  knows  how  to  keep 
Saturday  night ;  and  if  you're  a  Boston  boy,  you  should  love 
Boston  ways." 


88 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


The  officer  did  not  reply,  and  as  they  now  proceeded  with 
great  dihgence,  they  soon  passed  through  King  and  Queen 
streets,  and  entered  that  of  Tremont.  At  a  httle  distance  from 
the  turning,  Job  stopped,  and  pointing  to  a  building  near  them, 
he  said — 

"  There  ;  that  house  with  the  courtyard  afore  it,  and  the  pile- 
axters,  and  the  grand-looking  door,  that's  Ma'am  Lechmere's ; 
and  everybody  says  she's  a  grand  lady ;  but  I  say  it  is  a  pity 
she  isn't  a  better  woman." 

"  And  who  are  you,  that  ventures  thus  boldly  to  speak  of  a 
lady  so  much  your  superior  ?" 

"  I !"  said  the  idiot,  looking  up  simply  into  the  face  of  his  in- 
terrogator, "  I  am  Job  Pray,  so  called." 

"  Well,  Job  Pray,  here  is  a  crown  for  you.  The  next  time 
you  act  as  guide,  keep  more  to  your  business. — I  tell  you,  lad, 
I  offer  a  crown." 

"  Job  don't  love  crowns — they  say  the  king  wears  a  crown, 
and  it  makes  him  flaunty  and  proud  like." 

"  The  disaffection  must  have  spread  itself  wide  indeed,  if  such 
as  he  refuse  silver,  rather  than  offend  their  principles !"  mut- 
tered the  officer  to  himself — "  Here  then  is  half  a  guinea,  if  you 
like  gold  better." 

The  natural  continued  kicking  a  stone  about  with  his  toes, 
without  taking  his  hands  from  his  pockets  where  he  wore  them 
ordinarily,  with  a  sort  of  idle  air,  as  he  peered  from  under  his 
slouched  hat  at  this  renewed  offer,  answering — 

"  You  wouldn't  let  the  grannies  whip  Job,  and  Job  won't  take 
your  money." 

"  Well,  boy,  there  is  more  of  gratitude  in  that  than  a  wiser 
man  would  always  feel !  Come,  Meriton,  I  shall  meet  the  poor 
fellow  again,  and  will  not  forget  this.  I  commission  you  to  see 
the  lad  better  dressed,  in  the  beginning  of  the  week." 

"  Lord,  sir,"  said  the  valet,  "  if  it  is  your  pleasure,  most  cer- 
tainly ;  but  I  declare  I  don't  know  in  what  style  I  should  dress 
such  a  figure  and  countenance,  to  make  any  thing  of  them !" 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


39 


"  Sir,  sir,"  cried  the  lad,  running  a  few  steps  after  the  officer, 
who  had  already  proceeded,  "  if  you  won't  let  the  grannies  hciat 
Job  any  more,  Job  will  always  show  you  the  way  through  Bos- 
ton ;  and  run  your  a'r'nds  too  I" 

"  Poor  fellow !  well,  I  promise  that  you  shall  not  be  again 
abused  by  any  of  the  soldiery.  Good-night,  my  honest  friend — 
Jet  me  see  you  again." 

The  idiot  appeared  satisfied  with  this  assurance,  for  he  imme- 
diately turned,  and  gliding  along  the  street  with  a  sort  of  shuf- 
fling gait,  he  soon  disappeared  round  the  first  corner.  In  the 
mean  time  the  young  ofiicer  advanced  to  the  entrance  which  led 
into  the  courtyard  of  Mrs.  Lechiiiere's  dwelling.  The  house 
was  of  bricks,  and  of  an  exterior  altogether  more  pretending 
than  most  of  those  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  town.  It  was 
heavily  ornamented,  in  wood,  according  to  the  taste  of  a  some- 
what earher  day,  and  presented  a  front  of  seven  windows  in  its 
two  upper  stories,  those  at  the  extremes  being  much  narrower 
than  the  others.  The  lower  floor  had  the  same  arrangement, 
with  the  exception  of  the  principal  door. 

Strong  lights  were  shining  in  many  parts  of  the  house,  which 
gave  it,  in  comparison  with  the  gloomy  and  darkened  edifices  in 
its  vicinity,  an  air  of  peculiar  gayety  and  life.  The  rap  of  the 
gentleman  was  answered  instantly  by  an  old  black,  dressed  in  a 
becoming,  and  what,  for  the  colonies,  was  a  rich  livery.  The 
inquiry  for  Mrs.  Lechmere  was  successful,  and  the  youth  was 
conducted  through  a  hall  of  some  dimensions,  into  an  apart- 
ment which  opened  from  one  of  its  sides.  This  room  would  be 
considered,  at  the  present  day,  much  too  small  to  contain  the 
fashion  of  a  country  town ;  but  what  importance  it  wanted  in 
size,  was  amply  compensated  for  in  the  richness  and  labor  of  its 
decorations.  The  walls  were  divided  into  compartments,  by 
raised  panel-work,  beautifully  painted  with  imaginary  landscapes 
**nd  ruins.  The  glittering,  varnished  surfaces  of  these  pictures 
were  burdened  with  armoiial  bearings,  which  were  intended  to 
illustrate  the  alliances  of  the  family.    Beneath  the  surbase  were 


40 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


smaller  divisions  of  panels,  painted  with  various  arcliitectural 
devices ;  and  above  it  rose,  betvi^een  the  compartments,  fluted 
pilasters  of  wood,  witb  gilded  capitals.  A  heavy  wooden  and 
highly  ornamented  cornice  stretched  above  the  whole,  furnish- 
ing an  appropriate  outline  to  the  walls.  The  use  of  carpets  was, 
at  that  time,  but  little  known  in  the  colonies,  though  the  wealth 
and  station  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  would  probably  have  introduced 
the  luxury,  had  not  her  age,  and  the  nature  of  the  building, 
tempted  her  to  adhere  to  ancient  custom.  The  floor,  which 
shone  equally  with  the  furniture,  was  tessellated  with  small  al- 
ternate squares  of  red-cedar  and  pine,  and  in  the  centre  were 
the  ^  saliant  lions'  of  Lechmere,  attempted  by  the  blazonry  of 
the  joiner.  On  either  side  of  the  ponderous  and  labored  mantel 
were  arched  compartments,  of  plainer  work,  denoting  use,  the 
sliding  panels  of  one  of  which,  being  raised,  displayed  a  buffet 
groaning  with  massive  plate.  The  furniture  w^as  old,  rich,  and 
heavy,  but  in  perfect  preservation.  In  the  midst  of  this  scene 
of  colonial  splendor,  which  was  rendered  as  impressive  as  possi- 
ble by  the  presence  of  numerous  waxen  lights,  a  lady,  far  in  the 
decline  of  life,  sat,  in  formal  propriety,  on  a  small  settee.  The 
oflScer  had  thrown  his  cloak  into  the  hands  of  Meriton,  in  the 
hall,  and  as  he  advanced  up  the  apartment,  his  form  appeared 
in  the  gay  dress  of  a  soldier,  giving  to  its  ease  and  fine  propor- 
tions the  additional  charm  of  military  garnish.  The  hard, 
severe  eye  of  the  lady  sensibly  softened  with  pleased  surprise, 
as  it  dwelt  on  his  person  for  an  instant  after  she  arose  to  receive 
her  guest ;  but  the  momentary  silence  was  first  broken  by  the 
youth,  who  said — 

"  I  have  entered  unannounced,  for  my  impatience  has  ex- 
ceeded my  breeding,  madam,  while  each  step  I  have  taken  in 
this  house  recalls  the  days  of  my  boyhood,  and  of  my  former 
freedom  within  its  walls." 

"  My  cousin  Lincoln !"  interrupted  the  lady,  who  was  Mrs. 
Lechmere  ;  "  that  dark  eye,  that  smile,  nay,  your  very  step,  an- 
nounces you !    I  must  have  forgotten  my  poor  brother,  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


41 


one  also  who  is  still  so  dear  to  us,  not  to  liave  known  }'ou  a  true 
Lincoln." 

There  was  a  distance  in  tlie  manner  of  both,  at  meeting,  which 
might  easily  have  been  imparted  by  the  precise  formula  of  the 
provincial  school,  of  which  the  lady  was  so  distinguished  a 
member,  but  which  was  not  sufficient  to  explain  the  sad  ex- 
pression that  suddenly  and  powerfully  blended  with  the  young 
man's  smile,  as  she  spoke.  The  change,  however,  was  bul 
momentary,  and  he  answered  courteously  to  her  assurances  of 
recognition — 

"  I  have  long  been  taught  to  expect  a  second  home  in  Tre- 
mont-street,  and  I  find  by  your  flattering  remembrance  of  my- 
self and  parents,  dear  madam,  that  my  expectations  are  jus- 
tified." 

The  lady  was  sensibly  pleased  at  this  remark,  and  she  suffered 
a  smile  to  unbend  her  rigid  brow,  as  she  answered — 

"  A  home,  certainly,  though  it  be  not  such  a  one  as  the  heir 
of  the  wealthy  house  of  Lincoln  may  have  been  accustomed  to 
dwell  in.  It  would  be  strange,  indeed,  could  any,  allied  to  that 
honorable  family,  forget  to  entertain  its  representative  with  due 
respect." 

The  youth  seemed  conscious  that  quite  as  much  had  now 
been  said  as  the  occasion  required,  and  he  raised  his  head  from 
bowing  respectfully  on  her  hand,  with  the  intention  of  changing 
the  subject  to  one  less  personal,  when  his  eye  caught  a  glimpse 
of  the  figure  of  another,  and  more  youthful  female,  who  had 
been  concealed,  hitherto,  by  the  drapery  of  a  window-curtain. 
Advancing  to  this  young  lady,  he  said,  with  a  quickness  that 
rather  betrayed  his  willingness  to  suspend  further  compli- 
ment— 

"  And  here  I  see  one  also,  to  whom  I  have  the  honor  of  be- 
ing related — Miss  Dynevor  ?" 

"  Though  it  be  not  my  grandchild,"  said  Mrs.  Lechmere,  "  it 
is  one  who  claims  an  equal  affinity  to  you.  Major  Lincoln ;  it  is 
Agnes  Danforth,  the  daughter  of  my  late  niece." 


42 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  'Twas  my  eye  then,  and  not  my  feelings,  that  were  mis- 
taken," returned  the  young  soldier:  "I  hope  this  lady  will  admit 
my  claim  to  call  her  cousin  ?" 

A  simple  inclination  of  the  body  w^as  the  only  answer  he  re- 
ceived, though  she  did  not  decline  the  hand  which  he  offered 
with  his  salutations.  After  a  few  more  of  the  usual  expressions 
of  pleasure,  and  the  ordinary  inquiries  that  succeed  such  meet- 
ings, the  party  became  seated,  and  a  more  regular  discourse 
followed. 

"  I  am  pleased  to  find  you  remember  us  then,  cousin  Lionel," 
said  Mrs.  Lechmere ;  "  we  have  so  little  in  this  remote  province 
that  will  compare  with  the  mother  country,  I  had  feared  no  ves- 
tiges of  the  place  of  your  birth  could  remain  on  your  mind." 

"  I  find  the  town  greatly  altered,  it  is  true,  but  there  are  many 
places  in  it  which  I  still  remember,  though  certainly  their  splen- 
dor is  a  little  diminished,  in  my  eyes,  by  absence  and  a  familiarity 
with  other  scenes." 

"  Doubtless,  an  acquaintance  with  the  British  court  will  have 
no  tendency  to  exalt  our  humble  customs  in  your  imagination  ; 
neither  do  we  possess  many  buildings  to  attract  the  notice  of  a 
travelled  stranger.  There  is  a  tradition  in  our  family,  that  your 
seat  in  Devonshire  is  as  large  as  any  dozen  edifices  in  Boston, 
public  or  private ;  nay,  we  are  proud  of  saying,  that  the  king 
himself  is  lodged  as  well  as  the  head  of  the  Lincoln  family,  only 
when  at  his  castle  of  Windsor !" 

"  Ravenscliffe  is  certainly  a  place  of  some  magnitude,"  re- 
turned the  young  man,  carelessly,  "  though  you  will  remembei 
his  majesty  aff"ects  but  little  state  at  Kew.  I  have,  however, 
spent  so  little  of  my  time  in  the  country,  that  I  hardly  know  its 
conveniences  or  its  extent." 

The  old  lady  bowed  Avith  that  sort  of  complacency  which 
the  dwellers  in  the  colonies  were  apt  to  betray,  whenever  an 
allusion  w^as  made  to  the  acknowledged  importance  of  theii 
connections  in  that  country,  towards  which  they  all  looked  as 
to  the  fountain  of  honor ;  and  then,  as  quickly  as  if  the  change 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


43 


in  her  ideas  was  but  a  natural  transition  in  the  subject,  she 
observed — 

"  Surely  Cecil  cannot  know  of  the  arrival  of  our  kinsman : 
she  is  not  apt  to  be  so  remiss  in  paying  attention  to  our  guests." 

"  She  does  me  the  more  honor,  that  she  considers  me  a  rela- 
tive, and  one  who  requires  no  formality  in  his  reception." 

"  You  are  but  cousins  twice  removed,"  returned  the  old  lady, 
a  little  gravely  ;  "  and  there  is  surely  no  affinity  in  that  degree 
which  can  justify  any  forge tfulness  of  the  usual  courtesies.  You 
see,  cousin  Lionel,  how  much  we  value  the  consanguinity,  when 
it  is  a  subject  of  pride  to  the  most  remote  branches  of  the 
family!" 

"  I  am  but  little  of  a  genealogist,  madam ;  though,  if  I  retain 
a  true  impression  of  what  I  have  heard.  Miss  Dynevor  is  of  too 
good  blood,  in  the  direct  line,  to  value  the  collateral  drops  of  an 
intermarriage." 

"  Pardon  me.  Major  Lincoln ;  her  father.  Colonel  Dynevor, 
was  certainly  an  Englishman  of  an  ancient  and  honorable  name, 
but  no  family  in  the  realm  need  scorn  an  alliance  with  our  own. 
I  say  our  own,  cousin  Lionel,  for  I  would  never  have  you  forget 
that  I  am  a  Lincoln,  and  was  the  sister  of  your  grandfather." 

A  little  surprised  at  the  seeming  contradiction  in  the  language 
of  the  good  lady,  the  young  man  bowed  his  head  to  the  com- 
pliment, and  cast  his  eyes  at  his  younger  companion  with  a  sort 
of  longing  to  change  the  discourse,  by  addressing  the  reserved 
young  woman  nigh  him,  that  was  very  excusable  in  one  of  his 
sex  and  years.  He  had  not  time,  however,  to  make  more  than 
one  or  two  commonplace  remarks,  and  receive  their  answers, 
before  Mrs.  Lechmere  said,  with  some  exhibition  of  staid  dis- 
pleasure against  her  grandchild — 

"Go,  Agnes,  and  acquaint  your  cousin  of  this  happy  event. 
She  has  been  sensibly  alive  to  your  safety  during  the  whole 
time  consumed  by  your  voyage.  We  have  had  the  prayers  of 
the  church,  for  a  '  person  gone  to  sea,'  read  each  Sunday  since 
the  receipt  of  your  letters  announcing  your  intention  to  embark; 


44 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


and  I  have  been  exceedingly  pleased  to  observe  the  deep  inter- 
est with  which  Cecil  joined  in  our  petitions." 

Lionel  mumbled  a  few  words  of  thanks,  and  leaning  back  in 
his  chair,  threw  his  eyes  upward,  but  whether  in  pious  gratitude 
or  not,  we  conceive  it  is  not  our  province  to  determine.  During 
the  delivery  of  Mrs.  Lechmere's  last  speech  and  the  expressive 
pantomime  that  succeeded  it,  Agnes  Danforth  rose  and  left  the 
room.  The  door  had  been  some  little  time  closed  before  the 
silence  was  again  broken,  during  which  Mrs.  Lechmere  evidently 
essayed  in  vain,  once  or  twice,  to  speak.  Her  color,  pale  and 
immovable  as  usually  seemed  her  withered  look,  changed  in  its 
shades,  and  her  lip  trembled  involuntarily.  She,  however,  soon 
found  her  utterance,  though  the  first  tones  of  her  voice  were 
choked  and  husky. 

"I  may  have  appeared  remiss,  cousin  Lionel,"  she  said,  "but 
there  are  subjects  that  can  be  discussed  with  propriety  only  be- 
tween the  nearest  relatives.  Sir  Lionel — you  left  him  in  as 
good  a  state  of  bodily  health,  I  hope,  as  his  mental  illness  will 
allow  ?" 

"  It  is  so  represented  to  me." 

"  You  have  seen  him  lately  ?" 

"  Not  in  fifteen  years.  My  presence  was  said  to  increase  his 
disorder,  and  the  physicians  forbade  any  more  interviews.  He 
continues  at  the  private  establishment  near  town,  and,  as  the 
lucid  intervals  are  thought  to  increase,  both  in  frequency  and 
duration,  I  often  indulge  in  the  pleasing  hope  of  being  restored 
again  to  my  father.  The  belief  is  justified  by  his  years,  which, 
you  know,  are  yet  under  fifty." 

A  long,  and  apparently  a  painful  silence,  succeeded  this  in- 
teresting ■  communication ;  at  length  the  lady  said,  with  a  tre- 
mor in  her  voice,  for  which  the  young  man  almost  reverenced 
her,  as  it  so  plainly  bespoke  her  interest  in  her  nephew,  as  well 
as  the  goodness  of  her  heart — 

"  I  will  thank  you  for  a  glass  of  that  water  in  the  bufiet. 
Pardon  me,  cousin  Lionel,  but  this  melancholy  subject  always 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


45 


overcomes  me.  I  will  retire  a  few  moments,  with  your  indul- 
gence, and  hasten  the  appearance  of  my  grandchild.  I  pine 
that  you  may  meet." 

Her  absence,  just  at  that  moment,  was  too  agreeable  to  the 
feelings  of  Lionel  for  him  to  gainsay  her  intention  ;  though,  in- 
stead of  following  Agnes  Danforth,  who  had  preceded  her  on 
the  same  duty,  the  tottering  steps  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  conducted 
her  to  a  door  which  communicated  with  her  own  apartment. 
For  several  minutes  the  young  man  trampled  on  the  "  saliant 
lions"  of  Lechmere  with  a  rapidity  that  seemed  to  emulate  their 
own  mimic  speed,  as  he  paced  to  and  fro  across  the  narrow 
apartment,  his  eye  glancing  vacantly  along  the  labored  wainscots, 
embracing  the  argent,  azure,  and  purpure  fields  of  the  different 
escutcheons,  as  heedlessly  as  if  they  were  not  charged  with  the 
distinguishing  symbols  of  so  many  honorable  names.  This  men- 
tal abstraction  was,  however,  shortly  dissipated  by  the  sudden 
appearance  of  one  who  had  glided  into  the  room  and  advanced 
to  its  centre  before  he  became  conscious  of  her  presence.  A 
hght,  rounded,  and  exquisitely  proportioned  female  form,  accom- 
panied by  a  youthful  and  expressive  countenance,  with  an  air  in 
w^hich  womanly  grace  blended  so  nicely  with  feminine  delicacy 
as  to  cause  each  motion  and  gesture  to  command  respect,  at  the 
same  time  that  it  was  singularly  insinuating,  was  an  object  to 
suspend,  even  at  a  first  glance,  provided  that  glance  were  by 
surprise,  the  steps  of  a  more  absent  and  less  courteous  youth 
than  the  one  we  have  attempted  to  describe.  Major  Lincoln 
knew  that  this  young  lady  could  be  no  other  than  Cecil  Dyne- 
vor,  the  daughter  of  a  British  officer,  long  since  deceased,  by 
the  only  child  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  who  was  also  in  her  grave  ; 
and,  consequently,  that  she  was  one  to  whom  he  was  so  well 
known  by  character,  and  so  nearly  allied  by  blood,  as  to  render 
it  an  easy  task  for  a  man  accustomed  to  the  world,  as  he  had 
been,  to  remove  any  little  embarrassments  which  might  have 
beset  a  less  practised  youth,  by  acting  as  his  own  usher.  This 
he  certainly  attempted,  and  at  first  with  a  freedom  which  his 


46 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


affinity,  and  the  circumstances  would  seem  to  allow,  though  it. 
was  chastened  by  easy  poHteness.  But  the  restraint  visible  in 
the  manner  of  the  lady  was  so  marked,  that,  by  the  time  his 
salutations  were  ended  and  he  had  handed  her  to  a  seat,  the 
young  man  felt  as  much  embarrassment  as  if  he  had  found  him- 
self alone,  for  the  first  time,  with  the  woman  whom  he  had  been 
pining,  for  months,  to  favor  with  a  very  particular  communica- 
tion. Whether  it  is  that  nature  has  provided  the  other  sex 
with  a  tact  for  these  occasions,  or  that  the  young  lady  became 
sensible  that  her  deportment  was  not  altogether  such  as  was 
worthy  either  of  herself  or  the  guest  of  her  grandmother,  she 
was  certainly  the  first  to  relieve  the  slight  awkwardness  that 
was  but  too  apparent  in  the  commencement  of  the  interview. 

"  My  grandmother  has  long  been  expecting  this  pleasure, 
Major  Lincoln,"  she  said,  "  and  your  arrival  has  been  at  a  most 
auspicious  moment.  The  state  of  the  country  grows  each  day  so 
very  alarming,  that  I  have  indeed  long  urged  her  to  visit  our 
relatives  in  England,  until  the  disputes  shall  have  terminated." 

The  tones  of  an  extremely  soft  and  melodious  voice,  and  a  pro- 
nunciation quite  as  exact  as  if  the  speaker  had  acquired  the 
sounds  in  the  English  court,  and  which  was  entirely  free  from 
the  slight  vernacular  peculiarity  which  had  ofifended  his  ear  in 
the  few  words  that  fell  from  Agnes  Danforth,  certainly  aided  a 
native  attraction  of  manner,  which  it  seemed  impossible  for  the 
young  lady  to  cast  entirely  aside. 

"  You  who  are  so  much  of  an  Englishwoman,  would  find 
great  pleasure  in  the  exchange,"  he  answered;  "and  if  half 
what  I  have  heard  from  a  fellow-passenger,  of  the  state  of  the 
country,  be  true,  I  shall  be  foremost  in  seconding  your  request. 
I>oth  Ravensclifi*e  and  the  house  in  Soho  would  be  greatly  at 
the  service  of  Mrs.  Lechmere." 

"  It  was  my  wish  that  she  would  accept  the  pressing  invita- 
tions of  my  father's  relative.  Lord  Cardonnel,  who  has  long 
urged  me  to  pass  a  few  years  in  his  own  family.  A  separation 
would  be  painful  to  us  both,  but  should  my  grandmother,  in 


L  I  ON  EL  LINCOLN. 


47 


such  an  event,  determine  to  take  lier  residence  in  the  dwelHngs 
of  her  ancestors,  I  could  not  be  censured  for  adopting  a  resolu- 
tion to  abide  under  the  roofs  of  mine." 

The  piercing  eye  of  Major  Lincoln  fell  full  upon  her  own,  as 
she  delivered  this  intention,  and  as  it  dropped  on  the  fleer,  the 
slight  smile  that  played  round  his  lip,  was  produced  by  the 
passing  thought,  that  the  provincial  beauty  had  inherited  so 
much  of  her  grandmother's  pride  of  genealogy,  as  to  be  willing 
to  impress  on  his  mind,  that  the  niece  of  a  viscount  was  superior 
to  the  heir  of  a  baronetcy.  But  the  quick  burning  flush  that 
instantly  passed  across  the  features  of  Cecil  Dynevor,  might 
have  taught  him  that  she  was  acting  under  the  impulse  of  much 
deeper  feelings  than  such  an  unworthy  purpose  would  indicate. 
The  eflfect,  however,  was  such  as  to  make  the  young  man  glad 
to  see  Mrs.  Lechmere  re-enter  the  room,  leaning  on  the  arm  of 
her  niece. 

"  I  perceive,  my  cousin  Lionel,"  said  the  lady,  as  she  moved 
with  a  feeble  step  towards  the  settee,  "  that  you  and  Cecil  have 
found  each  other  out,  without  the  necessity  of  any  other  intro- 
duction than  the  aflSnity  between  you.  I  surely  do  not  mean 
the  affinity  of  blood  altogether,  you  know,  for  that  cannot  be 
said  to  amount  to  any  thing ;  but  I  believe  there  exist  certain 
features  of  the  mind  that  are  transmitted  through  families  quite 
as  distinctly  as  any  which  belong  to  the  countenance." 

"  Could  I  flatter  myself  with  possessing  the  slightest  resem- 
blance to  Miss  Dynevor,  in  either  of  those  particulars,  I  should 
be  doubly  proud  of  the  connection,"  returned  Lionel,  while  he 
assisted  the  good  lady  to  a  seat,  with  a  coolness  that  sufficiently 
denoted  how  httle  he  cared  about  the  matter. 

"  But  I  am  not  disposed  to  have  my  right  to  claim  near 
kindred  with  cousin  Lionel  at  all  disputed,"  cried  the  young 
lady,  with  sudden  animation.  "  It  has  pleased  our  forefathers 
to  order  such — " 

"  Nay,  nay,  my  child,"  interrupted  her  grandmother,  "  you 
forget  that  the  term  of  cousin  can  only  be  used  in  cases  of 


48 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


near  consanguinity,  and  wliere  familiar  situations  will  excuse  it. 
But  Major  Lincoln  knows  that  we  in  the  colonies  are  apt  to 
make  the  most  of  the  language,  and  count  our  cousins  almost 
as  far  as  if  we  were  members  of  the  Scottish  clans.  Speaking 
of  the  clans  reminds  me  of  the  rebellion  of  '45.  It  is  not 
thought,  in  England,  that  our  infatuated  colonists  will  ever  be  so 
fool-hardy  as  to  assume  their  arms  in  earnest 

"  There  are  various  opinions  on  that  subject,"  said  Lionel. 
"  Most  military  men  scout  the  idea  ;  though  I  find,  occasionally, 
an  officer  that  has  served  on  this  continent,  who  thinks  not 
only  that  the  appeal  will  be  made,  but  that  the  struggle  will  be 
bloody." 

"  Why  should  they  not  ?"  said  Agnes  Danforth,  abruptly ; 
"  they  are  men,  and  the  English  are  no  more !" 

Lionel  turned  his  looks,  in  a  little  surprise,  on  the  speaker,  to 
whose  countenance  an  almost  imperceptible  cast  in  one  eye  im- 
parted a  look  of  arch  good-nature  that  her  manner  would  seem 
to  contradict,  and  smiled  as  he  repeated  her  words — 

"  Why  should  they  not,  indeed  !  I  know  no  other  reasons 
than  that  it  would  be  both  a  mad  and  an  unlawful  act.  I  can 
assure  you  that  I  am  not  one  of  those  who  afiect  to  undervalue 
my  own  countrymen  ;  for  you  will  remember  that  I  too  am  an 
American." 

"  I  have  heard  it  said  that  such  of  our  volunteers  as  wear 
uniforms  at  all,"  said  Agnes,  "appear  in  blue,  and  not  in 
scarlet." 

"'Tis  his  Majesty's  pleasure  that  his  47th  foot  should  wear 
this  gaudy  color,"  returned  the  young  man,  laughing ;  "  though, 
for  myself,  I  am  quite  willing  to  resign  it  to  the  use  of  you  ladies, 
and  to  adopt  another,  could  it  well  be." 

"  It  might  be  done,  sir." 

"  In  what  manner  ?" 

"  By  resigning  your  commission  with  it." 
Mrs.  Lechmere  had  evidently  permitted  her  niece  to  proceed 
thus  far,  without  interruption,  to  serve  some  purpose  of  her 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


49 


own  ;  but  perceiving  that  her  guest  by  no  means  exhibited  the 
air  of  pique,  which  the  British  officers  were  so  often  weak 
enough  to  betray,  when  the  women  took  into  their  hands  the 
defence  of  their  country's  honor,  she  rang  the  bell,  as  she  ob- 
served— 

"  Bold  language,  Major  Lincoln  !  bold  language,  for  a  young 
lady  under  twenty.  But  Miss  Danforth  is  privileged  to  speak 
her  mind  freely,  for  some  of  her  father's  family  are  but  too 
deeply  implicated  in  the  unlawful  proceedings  of  these  evil 
times.    We  have  kept  Cecil,  however,  more  to  her  allegiance." 

"  And  yet  even  Cecil  has  been  known  to  refuse  the  favor  of 
her  countenance  to  the  entertainments  given  by  the  British 
officers !"  said  Agnes,  a  little  piquantly. 

"  And  would  you  have  Cecil  Dynevor  frequent  balls  and  en- 
tertainments unaccompanied  by  a  proper  chaperon  ?"  returned 
Mrs.  Lechmere  ;  "  or  is  it  expected  that,  at  seventy,  I  can  ven- 
ture in  public  to  maintain  the  credit  of  our  family  ?  But  we 
keep  Major  Lincoln  from  his  refreshments  with  our  idle  dis- 
putes.   Cato,  we  wait  your  movements." 

Mrs.  Lechmere  delivered  her  concluding  intimation  to  the 
black  in  attendance,  with  an  air  that  partook  somewhat  of 
mystery.  The  old  domestic,  who,  probably  from  long  practice, 
understood,  more  by  the  expression  of  her  eye  than  by  any 
words  she  had  uttered,  the  wishes  of  his  mistress,  proceeded  to 
close  the  outer  shutters  of  the  windows,  and  to  draw  the  cur- 
tains with  the  most  exact  care.  When  this  duty  was  performed, 
he  raised  a  small  oval  table  from  its  regular  position  among  the 
flowing  folds  of  the  drapery  that  shrouded  the  deep  apertures 
for  light,  and  placed  it  in  front  of  Miss  Dynevor.  A  salver  of 
massive  silver,  containing  an  equipage  of  the  finest  Dresden, 
followed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  a  hissing  urn  of  the  same  pre- 
cious metal  garnished  the  polished  surface  of  the  mahogany. 
During  these  arrangements,  Mrs.  Lechmere  and  her  guest  had 
maintained  a  general  discourse,  touching  chiefly  on  the  welfare 
and  condition  of  certain  individuals  of  their  alliance  in  Eng~ 

3 


50 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


land.  ]S"otwithstaiiding  tlie  demand  tlius  made  on  his  attentioii^ 
Lionel  was  able  to  discover  a  certain  appearance  of  mystery  and 
caution  in  each  movement  of  the  black,  as  he  proceeded  leis- 
urely in  his  duty.  Miss  Dynevor  permitted  the  disposition  of 
the  tea-table  to  be  made  before  her,  passively,  and  her  cousin, 
Agnes  Danforth,  threw  herself  back  on  one  of  the  settees,  with 
a  look  that  indicated  cool  displeasure.  When  the  usual  com- 
pound was  made  in  two  little  fluted  cups,  over  whose  pure 
white  a  few  red  and  green  sprigs  were  sparingly  scattered,  the 
black  presented  one  containing  the  grateful  beverage  to  his 
mistress,  and  the  other  to  the  stranger. 

"  Pardon  me.  Miss  Danforth,"  said  Lionel,  recollecting  himself 
after  he  had  accepted  the  offering ;  "  I  have  sufiered  my  sea- 
breeding  to  obtain  the  advantage." 

"  Enjoy  your  error,  sir,  if  you  can  find  any  gratification  in  the 
indulgence,"  returned  the  young  lady. 

"  But  I  should  enjoy  it  the  more,  could  I  see  you  participating 
in  the  luxury." 

"  You  have  termed  the  idle  indulgence  well ;  'tis  nothing  but 
a  luxury,  and  such  a  one  as  can  be  easily  dispensed  with :  I 
thank  you,  sir,  I  do  not  drink  tea." 

"  Surely  no  lady  can  forswear  her  bohea !  be  persuaded." 

"  I  know  not  how  the  subtle  poison  may  operate  on  your 
English  ladies.  Major  Lincoln,  but  it  is  no  difficult  matter  for 
an  American  girl  to  decline  the  use  of  a  detestable  herb,  which 
is  one,  among  many  others,  of  the  causes  that  is  likely  to  in- 
volve her  country  and  kindred  in  danger  and  strife." 

The  young  man,  who  had  really  intended  no  more  than  the 
common  civilities  due  from  his  sex  to  the  other,  bowed  in  si- 
lence, though,  as  he  turned  from  her,  he  could  not  forbear  look- 
ing towards  the  table  to  see  whether  the  principles  of  the  other 
young  American  were  quite  as  rigid.  Cecil  sat  bending  over 
the  salver,  playing  idly  with  a  curiously  wrought  spoon,  made 
to  represent  a  §png  pf  t]ie  plant  whose  fragrance  had  been  thus 
put  in  requisition  to  contribute  tp  bis  indulgence,  while  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


51 


.=?team  from  the  china  vessel  before  her  was  wreathing  in  a  faint 
mist  around  her  polished  brow. 

"  You,  at  least,  Miss  Dynevor,"  said  Lionel,  "  appear  to  have 
no  dislike  to  the  herb,  you  breathe  its  vapor  so  freely." 

Cecil  cast  a  glance  at  him,  which  changed  the  demure  and 
somewhat  proud  composure  of  her  countenance  into  a  look  of 
sudden,  joyous  humor,  that  was  infinitely  more  natural,  as  she 
answered,  laughingly — 

"  I  own  a  woman's  weakness.  I  must  believe  that  it  was  tea 
that  tempted  our  common  mother  in  Paradise  !" 

"  It  would  show  that  the  cunning  of  the  serpent  has  been 
transmitted  to  a  later  day,  could  that  be  proved,"  said  Agnes, 
"though  the  instrument  of  temptation  has  lost  some  of  itfs 
virtue." 

"  How  know  you  that  ?"  said  Lionel,  anxious  to  pursue  the 
trifling,  in  order  to  remove  the  evident  distance  which  had 
existed  between  them ;  "  had  Eve  shut  her  ears  as  rigidly  as  you 
close  your  mouth  against  the  ofiering,  we  might  yet  have  en- 
joyed the  first  gift  to  our  parents." 

"  Oh,  sir,  'tis  no  such  stranger  to  me  as  you  may  imagine  from 
the  indifference  I  have  assumed  on  the  present  occasion  :  as  Job 
Pray  says,  Boston  harbor  is  nothing  but  a  '  big  teapot !' " 

"  You  know  Job  Pray,  then.  Miss  Danforth  ?"  said  Lionel,  not 
a  little  amused  by  her  spirit. 

"  Certainly ;  Boston  is  so  small,  and  Job  so  useful,  that  every- 
body knows  the  simpleton." 

"  He  belongs  to  a  distinguished  family,  then,  for  I  have  his 
own  assurance  that  everybody  knows  his  perturbed  mother, 
Abigail." 

"  You !"  exclaimed  Cecil,  again,  in  that  sweet  natural  voice 
that  had  before  startled  her  auditor;  "what  canyon  know  of 
poor  Job  and  his  almost  equally  unfortunate  mother  ?" 

"Now,  young  ladies,  I  have  you  in  my  snares !"  cried  Lionel; 
"  you  may  possibly  resist  the  steams  of  tea,  but  what  woman 
can  withstand  the  impulse  of  her  curiosity  ?    Not  to  be  too 


52 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


cruel  with  my  fair  kinswomen  on  so  short  an  acquaintance,  how- 
ever, I  will  go  so  far  as  to  acknowledge  that  I  have  already  had 
an  interview  with  Mrs.  Pray." 

The  reply  which  Agnes  was  about  to  deliver  was  interrupted, 
by  a  slight  crash,  and  on  turning  they  beheld  the  fragments  of 
a  piece  of  the  splendid  set  of  Dresden  lying  at  the  feet  of  Mrs. 
Lechmere. 

"  My  dear  grandmamma  is  ill !"  cried  Cecil,  springing  to  the 
assistance  of  the  old  lady.  "  Hasten,  Cato — Major  Lincoln,  you 
are  more  active— for  heaven's  sake,  a  glass  of  water — Agnes, 
your  salts." 

The  amiable  anxiety  of  her  grandchild  was  not,  however,  so 
necessary  as  first  appearances  would  have  indicated,  and  Mrs. 
Lechmere  gently  put  aside  the  salts,  though  she  did  not  decline 
the  glass  Vv^hich  Lionel  offered  for  the  second  time  in  so  short  a 
period. 

"  I  believe  you  will  mistake  me  for  a  sad  invalid,  cousin  Lio- 
nel," said  the  old  lady,  when  she  had  become  a  little  composed; 
"  but  I  believe  it  is  this  very  tea,  of  which  so  much  has  been 
said,  and  which  I  drink  to  excess,  from  pure  loyalty,  that  un- 
settles my  nerves ;  I  must  refrain,  like  the  girls,  though  from  a 
very  different  motive.  We  are  a  people  of  early  hours,  Major 
Lincoln,  but  you  are  at  home  here,  and  will  pursue  your  pleas- 
ure. I  must,  however,  claim  an  indulgence  for  threescore-and- 
ten,  and  be  permitted  to  wish  you  a  good  rest  after  your 
voyage.  Cato  has  his  orders  to  contribute  all  he  can  to  your 
comfort." 

Leaning  on  her  two  assistants,  the  old  lady  withdrew,  leaving 
Lionel  to  the  full  possession  of  the  apartment.  As  the  hour  was 
getting  late,  and,  from  the  compliments  they  had  exchanged,  he 
did  not  expect  the  return  of  the  younger  ladies,  he  called  for  a 
candle,  and  was  shown  to  his  own  room.  As  soon  as  the  few 
indispensables  which  rendered  a  valet  necessary  to  a  gentleman 
of  that  period  were  observ^ed,  he  dismissed  Meriton,  and  throw- 
ing himself  in  the  bed,  courted  the  sweets  of  the  pillow. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


53 


M;iiiy  iDcidents,  however,  had  occurred  during  the  day,  that 
induced  a  train  of  thoughts  which  for  a  long  time  prevented  his 
attaining  the  natural  rest  he  sought.  After  indulging  in  long 
and  uneasy  reflections  on  certain  events,  too  closely  connected 
with  his  personal  feelings  to  be  lightly  remembered,  the  young 
man  began  to  muse  on  his  reception  and  on  the  individuals  who 
had  been,  as  it  were,  for  the  first  time,  introduced  to  him. 

It  was  quite  apparent,  that  both  Mrs.  Lechmere  and  her  grand- 
daughter were  acting  their  several  parts,  though  whether  in  eon- 
cert  or  not,  remained  to  be  discovered.  But  in  Agnes  Danforth, 
with  all  his  subtlety,  he  could  perceive  nothing  but  the  plain 
and  direct,  though  a  little  blunt,  peculiarities  of  her  nature  and 
education.  Like  most  very  young  men,  who  had  just  been 
made  acquainted  with  two  youthful  females,  both  of  them  much 
superior  to  the  generality  of  their  sex  in  personal  charms,  he 
fell  asleep  musing  on  their  characters.  Nor,  considering  the 
circumstances,  will  it  be  at  all  surprising,  when  we  add,  before 
morning,  he  was  dreaming  of  the  Avon  of  Bristol,  on  board 
which  stout  vessel  he  even  thought  that  he  was  discussing  a 
chowder  on  the  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  which  had  been  un- 
accountably prepared  by  the  fair  hands  of  Miss  Danforth,  and 
which  was  strangely  flavored  with  tea ;  while  the  Hebe-looking 
countenance  of  Cecil  Dynevor  was  laughing  at  his  perplexities 
with  undisguised  good-humor,  and  with  all  the  vivacity  of 
girlish  merriment. 


54 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

"  A  good  portly  man,  i'  faith,  and  a  corpulent 

King  Henry  IV. 

The  sun  was  just  stirring  tlie  heavy  bank  of  fog,  which  had 
rested  on  the  waters  during  the  night,  as  Lionel  toiled  his  way 
up  the  side  of  Beacon-Hill,  anxious  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  his 
native  scenery  while  it  was  yet  glowing  with  the  first  touch  of 
day.  The  islands  raised  their  green  heads  above  the  mist,  and 
the  wide  amphitheatre  of  hills  that  encircled  the  bay  was  still 
visible,  though  the  vapor  was  creeping  in  places  along  the 
valleys — now  conceahng  the  entrance  to  some  beautiful  glen, 
and  now  wreathing  itself  fantastically  around  a  tall  spire  that 
told  the  site  of  a  suburban  village.  Though  the  people  of  the 
town  were  awake  and  up,  yet  the  sacred  character  of  the  day, 
and  the  state  of  the  times,  contributed  to  suppress  those  sounds 
which  usually  distinguish  populous  places.  The  cool  nights 
and  warm  days  of  April  had  generated  a  fog  more  than  usually 
dense,  which  was  deserting  its  watery  bed,  and  stealing  in- 
sidiously along  the  land,  to  unite  with  the  vapors  of  the  rivers 
and  brooks,  spreading  a  wider  curtain  before  the  placid  view. 
As  Lionel  stood  on  the  brow  of  the  platform  that  crowned  the 
eminence,  the  ghmpses  of  houses  and  hills,  of  towers  and  ships, 
of  places  known  and  places  forgotten,  passed  before  his  vision, 
through  the  openings  in  the  mist,  like  phantoms  of  the  imagina- 
tion. The  whole  scene,  animated  and  in  motion,  as  it  seemed 
by  its  changes,  appeared  to  his  excited  feelings  like  a  fanciful 
panorama,  exhibited  for  his  eye  alone,  when  his  enjoyment  was 
interrupted  by  a  voice  apparently  at  no  great  distance.  It  was 
a  man  singing  to  a  common  English  air  fragments  of  some 
ballad,  with  a  peculiarly  vile  nasal  cadency.    Through  the  frc- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


55 


quent  pauses,  he  was  enabled  to  compreliend  a  few  words^ 
which,  by  their  recurrence,  were  evidently  intended  for  a  choi-us 
to  the  rest  of  the  production.  The  reader  will  understand  the 
character  of  the  whole  from  these  lines,  which  ran  as  follows  : 

And  they  that  would  be  free, 

Out  they  go ; 
While  the  slaves,  as  you  may  see, 
Stay,  to  drink  their  p"ison  tea, 

Down  below  1 

Lionel,  after  listening  to  this  expressive  ditty  for  a  moment, 
followed  the  direction  of  the  sounds  until  he  encountered  Job 
Pray,  who  was  seated  on  one  of  the  flights  of  steps,  which 
aided  the  ascent  to  the  platform,  cracking  a  few  walnuts  on  the 
boards,  while  he  employed  those  intervals,  when  his  mouth 
could  find  no  better  employment,  in  uttering  the  above-men- 
tioned strains. 

.  "  How  now,  master  Pray ;  do  you  come  here  to  sing  your 
orisons  to  the  goddess  of  liberty,  on  a  Sunday  morning  ?"  cried 
Lionel ;  "  or  are  you  the  town  lark,  and  for  want  of  wings,  take 
to  this  height  to  obtain  an  altitude  for  your  melody  ?" 

"There's  no  harm  in  singing  psalm  tunes  or  continental 
songs,  any  day  in  the  week,"  said  the  lad,  without  raising  his 
eyes  from  his  occupation  ;  "  Job  don't  know  what  a  lark  is,  but 
if  it  belongs  to  the  town,  the  soldiers  are  so  thick,  they  can't 
keep  it  on  the  common." 

"  And  what  objection  can  you  have  to  the  soldiers  possessing 
a  corner  of  your  common  ?" 

"  lliey  starve  the  cows,  and  then  they  won't  give  milk ;  grass 
is  sweet  to  beasts  in  the  spring  of  the  year." 

"But,  my  life  for  it,  the  soldiers  don't  eat  grass;  your  brin- 
dles  and  your  blacks,  your  reds  and  your  whites,  may  have  the 
first  ofiering  of  the  spring  as  usual." 

"  But  Boston  cows  don't  love  grass  that  British  soldiers  have 
trampled  on,"  said  the  sullen  lad. 

"  This  is,  indeed,  carrying  notions  of  liberty  to  refinement !" 
exclaimed  Lionel,  laughing. 


66 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Job  shook  his  head  threateningly,  as  he  looked  up  and 
said,  "Don't  you  let  Ralph  hear  you  say  any  thing  ag'in 
liberty !" 

"  Ralph  !  who  is  he,  lad  ?  your  genius  !  w^here  do  you  keep 
the  invisible,  that  there  is  danger  of  his  overhearing  what  I 
say  ?" 

"  He's  up  there  in  the  fog,"  said  J ob,  pointing  significantly 
towards  the  foot  of  the  beacon,  which  a  dense  volume  of  vapor 
was  enwrapping,  probably  attracted  up  the  tall  post  that  sup- 
ported the  grate. 

Lionel  gazed  at  the  smoky  column  for  a  moment,  when  the 
mists  began  to  dissolve,  and  amid  their  evolutions  he  beheld 
the  dim  figure  of  his  aged  fellow-passenger.  The  old  man  was 
still  clad  in  his  simple,  tarnished  vestments  of  gray,  which  har- 
monized so  singularly  with  the  mists  as  to  impart  a  look  almost 
ethereal  to  his  wasted  form.  As  the  medium  through  which  he 
was  seen  became  less  cloudy,  his  features  grew  visible,  and 
Lionel  could  distinguish  the  uneasy,  rapid  glances  of  his  eyes, 
which  seemed  to  roam  over  the  distant  objects  with  an  earnest- 
ness that  appeared  to  mock  the  misty  veil  that  was  floating  be- 
fore so  much  of  the  view.  While  Lionel  stood  fixed  to  the 
spot,  gazing  at  this  irregular  being  with  that  secret  awe  which 
the  other  had  succeeded  in  inspiring,  the  old  man  waved  his 
hand  impatiently,  as  if  he  would  cast  aside  his  shroud.  At 
that  instant  a  bright  sunbeam  darted  into  the  vapor,  illumina- 
ting his  person,  and  melting  the  mist  into  the  air.  The  anxious, 
haggard,  and  severe  expression  of  his  countenance  changed  at 
the  touch  of  the  ray,  and  he  smiled  with  a  softness  and  attrac- 
tion that  thrilled  the  nerves  of  the  other,  as  he  called  aloud  to 
the  sensitive  young  soldier — 

"  Come  hither,  Lionel  Lincoln,  to  the  foot  of  this  beacon, 
where  you  may  gather  warnings,  which,  if  properly  heeded, 
will  guide  you  through  many  and  great  dangers  unharmed." 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  spoken,"  said  Lionel,  advancing  to  his 
side  ;  "  you  appeared  hke  a  being  of  another  world,  wrapped 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


51 


in  that  mantle  of  fog,  and  I  felt  tempted  to  kneel,  and  ask  a 
benediction." 

"  And  am  I  not  a  being  of  another  world  !  Most  of  my  in- 
terests are  already  in  the  grave,  and  I  tarry  here  only  for  a 
space,  because  there  is  a  great  work  to  be  done,  which  cannot 
be  performed  without  me.  My  view  of  the  world  of  spirits, 
young  man,  is  much  clearer  and  more  distinct  than  yours  of 
this  variable  scene  at  your  feet.  There  is  no  mist  to  obstruct 
the  eye,  nor  any  doubts  as  to  the  colors  it  presents." 

"  You  are  happy,  sir,  in  the  extremity  of  your  age,  to  be  so 
assured.  But  I  fear  your  sudden  determination  last  night  sub- 
jected you  to  inconvenience  in  the  tenement  of  this  change- 
Hng." 

"  The  boy  is  a  good  boy,"  said  the  old  man,  stroking  the 
head  of  the  natural  complacently  :  "  we  understand  each  other, 
Major  Lincoln,  and  that  shortens  introductions,  and  renders 
communion  easy." 

"  That  you  feel  alike  on  one  subject,  I  have  already  discov- 
ered ;  but  there,  I  should  think,  the  resemblance  and  the  intel- 
ligence must  end." 

"  The  propensities  of  the  mind,  in  its  infancy  and  in  its  ma- 
turity, are  but  a  span  apart,"  said  the  stranger  :  "  the  amount 
of  human  knowledge  is  but  to  know  how  much  we  are  under 
the  dominion  of  our  passions ;  and  he  who  has  learned  by  ex- 
perience how  to  smother  the  volcano,  and  he  who  never  felt  its 
fires,  are  surely  fit  associates." 

Lionel  bowed  in  silence  to  an  opinion  so  humbhng  to  the 
other,  and,  after  a  pause  of  a  moment,  adverted  to  their  situa- 
tion— 

"  The  sun  begins  to  make  himself  felt,  and  when  he  has 
driven  away  these  ragged  remnants  of  the  fog,  we  shall  see 
those  places  each  of  us  has  frequented  in  his  day." 

"  Shall  we  find  them  as  we  left  them,  think  you  ?  or  will 
you  see  the  stranger  in  possession  of  the  haunts  of  your  in- 
fancy ?" 


58 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Not  the  stranger,  certainly,  for  we  are  the  subjects  of  one 
king ;  children  who  own  a  common  parent." 

"  I  will  not  reply  that  he  has  proved  himself  an  unnatural 
father,"  said  the  old  man,  calmly  :  "  the  gentleman  who  now 
fills  the  British  throne  is  less  to  be  censured  than  his  advisers, 
for  the  oppression  of  his  reign." 

"  Sir,"  interrupted  Lionel,  "  if  such  allusions  are  made  to  the 
person  of  my  sovereign,  we  must  separate  ;  for  it  ill  becomes  a 
British  officer  to  hear  his  master  mentioned  with  levity." 

"  Levity !"  repeated  the  other,  slowly.  "  It  is  a  fault,  indeed, 
to  accompany  gray  locks  and  wasted  hmbs  !  but  your  jealous 
watchfulness  betrays  you  into  error.  I  have  breathed  in  the 
atmosphere  of  kings,  young  man,  and  know  how  to  separate 
the  individual  and  his  purpose  from  the  policy  of  his  govern- 
ment. 'Tis  the  latter  that  will  sever  this  great  empire,  and  de- 
prive the  third  George  of  what  has  so  often  and  so  well  been 
termed  ^  the  brightest  jewel  in  his  crown.'  " 

"I  must  leave  you,  sir,"  said  Lionel ;  "the  opinions  you  so 
freely  expressed  during  our  passage,  were  on  principles  which  I 
can  hardly  call  opposed  to  our  own  constitution,  and  might  be 
heard,  not  only  without  offence,  but  frequently  with  admira- 
tion ;  but  this  language  approaches  to  treason  !" 

"  Go,  then,"  returned  the  unmoved  stranger ;  "  descend  to 
yon  degraded  common,  and  bid  your  mercenaries  seize  me — 
'twill  be  only  the  blood  of  an  old  man,  but  'twill  help  to  fatten 
the  land ;  or  send  your  merciless  grenadiers  to  torment  their 
victim  before  the  axe  shall  do  its  work  :  a  man  who  has  lived 
so  long,  can  surely  spare  a  little  of  his  time  to  the  tor- 
mentors !" 

"  I  could  have  thought,  sir,  that  you  might  spare  such  a  re- 
proach to  me,"  said  Lionel. 

"  I  do  spare  it,  and  I  do  more  :  I  forget  my  years,  and  solicit 
forgiveness.  But  had  you  known  slavery,  as  I  have  done,  in  its 
worst  of  forms,  you  would  know  how  to  prize  the  inestimable 
blessing  of  freedom." 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


59 


"  Have  you  ever  known  slavery,  in  your  travels,  more  closely 
than  in  what  you  deem  the  violations  of  principle 

"  Have  I  not  ?"  said  the  stranger,  smiling  bitterly.  "  I  have 
known  it  as  man  should  never  know  it — in  act  and  will.  I 
have  lived  days,  months,  and  even  years,  to  hear  others  coldly 
declare  my  wants ;  to  see  others  dole  out  their  meager  pit- 
tances to  my  necessities,  and  to  hear  others  assume  the  right  to 
express  the  sufferings  and  to  control  the  enjoyments  of  sensibili- 
ties that  God  has  given  to  me  only  1" 

"  To  endure  such  thraldom,  you  must  have  fallen  into  the 
power  of  the  infidel  barbarians." 

"  Ah  !  boy,  I  thank  you  for  the  words ;  they  were  indeed 
worthy  of  the  epithets :  infidels,  that  denied  the  precepts  of  our 
blessed  Redeemer ;  and  barbarians,  that  treated  one  having  a 
soul,  and  possessing  reason  like  themselves,  as  a  beast  of  the 
field." 

"Why  didn't  you  come  to  Boston,  Ralph,  and  tell  that  to  the 
people  in  Funnel  Hall?"  exclaimed  Job:  "ther'd  ha'  been  a  stir 
about  it !" 

"  Child,  I  did  come  to  Boston,  again  and  again,  in  thought ; 
and  the  appeals  that  I  made  to  my  townsmen  would  have  moved 
the  very  roof  of  old  Faneuil,  could  they  have  been  uttered 
within  her  walls.  But  'twas  in  vain  !  they  had  the  power,  and 
like  demons — or,  rather,  like  miserable  men — they  abused  it." 

Lionel,  sensibly  touched,  was  about  to  reply  in  a  suitable 
manner,  when  he  heard  a  voice  calling  his  own  name  aloud, 
as  if  the  speaker  were  ascending  the  opposite  acclivity  of  the 
hill.  The  instant  the  sounds  reached  his  ears,  the  old  man 
rose  from  his  seat,  on  the  foundation  of  the  beacon,  and  ghding 
over  the  brow  of  the  platform,  followed  by  Job,  they  descended 
into  a  volume  of  mist  that  was  still  clinging  to  the  side  of  the 
hill,  with  amazing  swiftness. 

"  Why,  Leo  !  thou  lion  in  name,  and  deer  in  activity  !"  ex- 
claimed the  intruder,  as  he  surmounted  the  steep  ascent,  "  what 
can  have  brought  you  up  into  the  clouds  so  early  !    Whew  !  a 


60 


LIONEL  LINCOL^^. 


man  needs  a  New  Market  training  to  scale  such  a  precipice, 
But,  Leo,  my  dear  fellow,  I  rejoice  to  see  you — we  knew  you 
were  expected  in  the  first  ship,  and  as  I  was  coming  from  morn- 
ing parade,  I  met  a  couple  of  grooms  in  the  *  Lincoln  Green,' 
you  know,  leading  each  a  blooded  charger — faith,  one  of  them 
would  have  been  quite  convenient  to  climb  this  accursed  hill 
on — whew  and  whew-w,  again — well,  I  knew  the  liveries  at  a 
glance  ;  as  to  the  horses,  I  hope  to  be  better  acquainted  with 
them  hereafter.  '  Pray,  sir,'  said  I,  to  one  of  the  liveried 
scoundrels,  *  whom  do  you  serve  V  '  Major  Lincoln,  of  Ravens- 
clifFe,'  said  he,  with  a  look  as  impudent  as  if  he  could  have 
said,  like  you  and  I,  his  sacred  majesty  the  king.  That's  the 
answer  of  the  servants  of  your  ten-thousand-a-year  men !  Now, 
if  my  fool  had  been  asked  such  a  question,  his  answer  would 
have  been,  craven  dog  as  he  is,  '  Captain  Polwarth,  of  the 
47th  ;'  leaving  the  inquirer,  though  it  should  even  be  some 
curious  maiden,  who  had  taken  a  fancy  to  the  tout  ensemble  of 
my  outhne,  in  utter  ignorance  that  there  is  such  a  place  in  the 
world  as  Polwarth  Hall !" 

During  this  voluble  speech,  which  was  interrupted  by  sundiy 
efforts  to  regain  the  breath  lost  in  the  ascent,  Lionel  shook  his 
friend  cordially  by  the  hand,  and  attempted  to  express  his  own 
pleasure  at  the  meeting.  The  failure  of  wind,  however,  which 
was  a  sort  of  besetting  sin  with  Captain  Polwarth,  had  now 
compelled  him  to  pause,  and  gave  time  to  Lionel  for  a  reply. 

"  This  hill  is  the  last  place  where  I  should  have  expected  to 
meet  you,"  he  said.  "  I  took  it  for  granted  you  would  not  be 
stirring  till  nine  or  ten  at  least,  when  it  was  my  intention  to 
inquire  you  out,  and  to  give  you  a  call  before  I  paid  my  re- 
spects to  the  commander-in-chief." 

"  Ah  !  you  may  thank  his  excellency,  the  '  Hon.  Thomas 
Gage,  governor  and  commander-in-chief  in  and  over  the  Prov- 
ince of  Massachusetts  Bay,  and  vice-admiral  of  the  same,'  as 
he  styles  himself  in  his  proclamations,  for  this  especial  favor ; 
though,  between  ourselves,  Leo,  he  is  about  as  much  governor 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


61 


over  tlie  Pronnce,  as  lie  is  owner  of  those  hunters  you  have 
just  landed." 

"  But  why  am  1  to  thank  him  for  this  interview  V 
"  Why  !  look  about  you,  and  tell  me  what  you  behold — 
nothing  but  fog — nay,  I  see  there  is  a  steeple,  and  yonder  is  the 
smoking  sea,  and  here  are  the  chimneys  of  Hancock's  house 
beneath  us,  smoking,  too,  as  if  their  rebellious  master  were  at 
home,  and  preparing  his  feed !  but  every  thing  in  sight  is  es- 
sentially smoky,  and  there  is  a  natural  aversion,  in  us  epicures, 
to  smoke.  Nature  dictates  that  a  man  who  has  as  much  to  do 
in  a  day,  in  carrying  himself  about,  as  your  humble  servant, 
should  not  cut  his  rest  too  abruptly  in  the  morning.  But 
the  honorable  Thomas,  governor,  and  vice-admiral,  &c.,  has 
ordered  us  under  arms  with  the  sun  —  officers  as  well  as 
men !" 

"  Surely  that  is  no  great  hardship  to  a  soldier,"  returned 
Lionel ;  "  and  moreover,  it  seems  to  agree  with  you  marvellous- 
ly. Now  I  look  again,  Polwarth,  I  am  amazed  !  Surely  you 
are  not  in  a  light-infantry  jacket !" 

"  Certes — what  is  there  in  that  so  wonderful  ?"  returned  the 
other,  with  great  gravity.  "  Don't  I  become  the  dress  ?  or  is  it 
the  dress  which  does  not  adorn  me,  that  you  look  ready  to  die 
with  mirth  ?  Laugh  it  out,  Leo.  I  am  used  to  it  these  three 
days — but  what  is  there,  after  all,  so  remarkable  in  Peter  Pol- 
warth's  commanding  a  company  of  light  infantry  ?  Am  I  not 
just  five  feet,  six  and  one-eighth  of  an  inch  ? — the  precise 
height  1" 

"  You  appear  to  have  been  so  accurate  in  your  longitudinal 
admeasurement,  that  you  must  carry  one  of  Harrison's  time- 
pieces in  your  pocket :  did  it  ever  suggest  itself  to  you  to  use 
the  quadrant  also 

"  For  my  latitude  !  I  understand  you,  Leo  :  because  I  am 
shaped  a  little  hke  mother  earth,  does  it  argue  that  I  cannot 
command  a  light-infantry  company  ?" 

"  Ay,  even  as  Joshua  commanded  the  sun.    But  the  stop- 


62 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


ping  of  tlie  planet  itself  is  not  a  greater  miracle,  in  my  eyes, 
than  to  see  you  in  that  attire." 

"  Well,  then,  the  mystery  shall  be  explained ;  but  first  let 
us  be  seated  on  this  beacon,"  said  Captain  Polwarth,  establish- 
ing himself  with  great  method  in  the  place  so  lately  occupied 
by  the  attenuated  form  of  the  stranger.  "  A  true  soldier  hus- 
bands his  resources  for  a  time  of  need :  that  word,  husbands, 
brings  me  at  once  to  the  point — I  am  in  love." 

"  That  is  surprising  !" 

"  But  what  is  much  more  so,  I  would  fain  be  married." 

"  It  must  be  a  woman  of  no  mean  endowments  that  could 
excite  surh  desires  in  Captain  Polwarth,  of  the  47th,  and  of 
Polwarth  Hall !" 

"She  is  a  woman  of  great  qualifications.  Major  Lincoln,"  said 
the  lover,  with  a  sudden  gravity  that  indicated  his  gayety  of 
manner  was  not  entirely  natural.  "  In  figure  she  may  be  said 
to  be  done  to  a  turn.  When  she  is  grave,  she  walks  with  the 
Btateliness  of  a  show-beef ;  when  she  runs,  'tis  with  the  activity 
of  a  turkey ;  and  when  at  rest,  I  can  only  compare  her  to  a  dish  of 
venison — savory,  delicate,  and  what  one  can  never  get  enough  of." 

"  You  have,  to  adopt  your  own  metaphors,  given  such  a  *rare' 
sketch  of  her  person,  I  am  '  burning '  to  hear  something  of  her 
mental  qualifications." 

"  My  metaphors  are  not  poetical,  perhaps,  but  they  are  the 
first  that  offer  themselves  to  my  mind,  and  they  are  natural. 
Her  accomplishments  exceed  her  native  gifts  greatly.  In  the 
first  place,  she  is  witty ;  in  the  second,  she  is  as  impertinent  as 
the  devil ;  and  in  the  third,  as  inveterate  a  little  traitor  to  King 
George  as  there  is  in  all  Boston." 

"  These  are  strange  recommendations  to  your  favor  !" 

"  The  most  infallible  of  all  recommendations.  They  are  pi- 
quant, like  savory  sauces,  which  excite  the  appetite,  and  season 
the  dish.  Now  her  treason  (for  it  amounts  to  that  in  fact)  is 
like  olives,  and  gives  a  gusto  to  the  generous  port  of  my  loy- 
alty.   Her  impertinence  is  oil  to  the  cold  salad  of  my  modesty, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


63 


and  her  acid  wit  mingles  witli  the  sweetness  of  my  tempera- 
ment, in  that  sort  of  pleasant  combination  with  which  sweet  and 
sour  blend  in  sherbet." 

"  It  would  be  idle  for  me  to  gainsay  the  charms  of  such  a 
woman,"  returned  Lionel,  a  good  deal  amused  with  the  droll 
mixture  of  seriousness  and  humor  in  the  other's  manner : 
now,  for  her  connection  with  the  light  infantry — she  is  not  of 
the  light  corps  of  her  own  sex,  Polwarth  ?" 

"  Pardon  me.  Major  Lincoln  ;  I  cannot  joke  on  this  subject 
Miss  Danforth  is  of  one  of  the  best  families  in  Boston." 

"  Danforth !  not  Agnes,  surely  !" 

"The  very  same!"  exclaimed  Polwarth,  in  surprise;  "what 
do  you  know  of  her  ?" 

"  Only  that  she  is  a  sort  of  cousin  of  my  own,  and  that  we 
are  inmates  of  the  same  house.  We  bear  equal  affinity  to  Mrs. 
Lechmere,  and  the  good  lady  has  insisted  that  I  shall  make  my 
home  in  Tremont-street." 

"  I  rejoice  to  hear  it !  At  all  events,  our  intimacy  may  now 
be  improved  to  some  better  purpose  than  eating  and  drinking. 
But  to  the  point :  there  were  certain  damnable  inuendoes  getting 
into  circulation  concerning  my  proportions,  which  I  considered 
it  prudent  to  look  down  at  once." 

"  In  order  to  do  which,  you  had  only  to  look  thinner." 

"  And  do  I  not,  in  this  appropriate  dress  ?  To  be  perfectly 
serious  with  you,  Leo — for  to  you  I  can  freely  unburden  myself 
— you  know  what  a  set  we  are  in  the  47th  :  let  them  once  fas- 
ten an  opprobrious  term  or  a  nickname  on  you,  and  you  take  it 
to  the  grave,  be  it  ever  so  burdensome." 

"  There  is  a  way,  certainly,  to  check  ungentleman-like  liber- 
ties," said  Lionel,  gravely. 

"  Poh !  poh !  a  man  wouldn't  wish  to  fight  about  a  pound 
more  or  a  pound  less  of  fat !  still,  the  name  is  a  great  deal,  and 
first  impressions  are  every  thing.  Now,  whoever  thinks  of 
Grand  Cairo  as  a  village  ?  of  the  Grand  Turk  and  Great  Mogul 
as  little  boys  ?  or  who  would  believe,  by  hearsay,  that  Captain 


64 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Polwartli,  of  the  light  infantry,  could  weigh  one  himdred  and 
eighty  V 

"Add  twenty  to  it/' 

"  Not  a  pound  more,  as  I  am  a  sinner.  I  was  wei^rhed  in 
the  presence  of  the  whole  mess  no  later  than  last  week,  since 
when  I  have  rather  lost  than  gained  an  ounce,  for  this  early 
rising  is  no  friend  to  a  thriving  condition.  'Twas  in  my  night- 
gown, you'll  remember,  Leo,  for  we,  who  tally  so  often,  can't 
afford  to  throw  in  boots,  and  buckles,  and  all  those  sorts  of 
things,  like  your  feather-weights." 

"  But  I  marvel  how  Nesbitt  was  induced  to  consent  to  the 
appointment,"  said  Lionel ;  "  he  loves  a  little  display." 

"  I  am  your  man  for  that,"  interrupted  the  captain ;  "  we  are 
embodied,  you  know,  and  I  make  more  display,  if  that  be  what 
you  require,  than  any  captain  in  the  corps.  But  I  will  whisper 
a  secret  in  your  ear.  There  has  been  a  nasty  business  here, 
lately,  in  which  the  47th  has  gained  no  new  laurels — a  matter 
of  tarring  and  feathering,  about  an  old  rusty  musket." 

"I  have  heard  something  of  the  affair  already,"  returned 
Lionel,  "  and  was  grieved  to  find  the  men  justifying  some  of 
their  own  brutal  conduct  last  night  by  the  example  of  their 
commander." 

"  Mum — 'tis  a  delicate  matter — well,  that  tar  has  brought  the 
colonel  into  particularly  bad  odor  in  Boston,  especially  among 
the  women,  in  whose  good  graces  we  are  all  of  us  lower  than  I 
have  ever  known  scarlet  coats  to  stand  before.  Why,  Leo,  the 
Mohairs  are  altogether  the  better  men  here !  But  there  is  not 
an  officer  in  the  whole  army  who  has  made  more  friends  in  the 
place  than  your  humble  servant.  I  have  availed  myself  of  my 
popularity,  which  just  now  is  no  trifling  thing,  and  partly  by 
promises,  and  partly  by  secret  interest,  I  have  the  company ; 
to  which,  you  know,  my  rank  in  the  regiment  gives  me  an 
undoubted  title." 

"  A  perfectly  satisfactory  explanation ;  a  most  commendable 
ambition  on  your  part,  and  a  certain  svmptom  that  the  peace  is 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


65 


not  to  be  disturbed ;  for  Gage  would  never  permit  sucli  an  ar- 
rangement, had  lie  any  active  operations  in  his  eye." 

"  Why,  there  I  think  you  are  more  than  half  right :  these 
Yankees  have  been  talking,  and  resolving,  and  approbating 
their  resolves,  as  they  call  it,  these  ten  years  past ;  and  what 
does  it  all  amount  to  ?  To  be  sure,  things  grow  worse  and 
worse  every  day — but  Jonathan  is  an  enigma  to  me.  Now  you 
kuDW,  when  we  were  in  the  cavalry  together — God  forgive  me 
the  suicide  I  committed  in  exchanging  into  the  foot,  which  I 
never  should  have  done,  could  I  have  found  in  all  England  such 
a  thing  as  an  easy  goer  or  safe  leaper — ^but  then,  if  the  Com- 
mons took  offence  at  a  new  tax,  or  a  stagnation  in  business, 
why,  they  got  together  in  mobs,  and  burnt  a  house  or  two, 
frightened  a  magistrate,  and  perhaps  hustled  a  constable ;  then 
in  we  came  at  a  hand  gallop,  you  know,  flourished  our  swords, 
and  scattered  the  ragged  devils  to  the  four  winds ;  when  the 
courts  did  the  rest,  leaving  us  a  cheap  victory  at  the  expense  of 
a  little  wind,  which  was  amply  compensated  by  an  increased 
appetite  for  dinner.  But  here  it  is  altogether  a  different  sort  of 
thing." 

"  And  what  are  the  most  alarming  symptoms,  just  now,  in 
the  colonies  ?"  asked  Major  Lincoln,  with  a  sensible  interest  in 
the  subject. 

"  They  refuse  their  natural  aliment  to  uphold  what  they  call 
their  principles ;  the  women  abjure  tea,  and  the  men  abandon 
their  fisheries !  There  has  been  hardly  such  a  thing  as  even  a 
wild  duck  brought  into  the  market  this  spring,  in  consequence 
of  the  Port  Bill,  and  yet  they  grow  more  stubborn  every  day. 
If  it  should  come  to  blows,  however,  thank  God  we  are  strong 
enough  to  open  a  passage  for  ourselves  to  any  part  of  the  conti- 
nent where  provisions  may  be  plentier  ;  and  I  hear  more  troops 
are  already  on  the  way." 

"  If  it  should  come  to  blows,  which  heaven  forbid,"  said  Ma- 
jor Lincoln,  "  we  shall  be  besieged  where  we  now  are." 

Besieged     exclaimed  Polwarth,  in  evident  alarm ;  "  if  J 


66 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


thought  there  was  the  least  prospect  of  such  a  calamity,  I  would 
sell  out  to-morrow.  It  is  bad  enough  now ;  our  mess-table  is 
never  decently  covered,  but  if  there  should  come  a  siege,  'twould 
be  absolute  starvation.  No,  no,  Leo,  their  minute-men,  and 
their  long-tailed  rabble,  would  hardly  think  of  besieging  four 
thousand  British  soldiers  with  a  fleet  to  back  them.  Four 
thousand !  if  the  regiments  I  hear  named  are  actually  on  the 
way,  there  will  be  eight  thousand  of  us — as  good  men  as  ever 
wore — " 

"  Light-infantry  jackets,"  interrupted  Lionel.  "But  the  regi- 
ments are  certainly  coming ;  Clinton,  Burgoyne,  and  Howe  had 
an  audience  to  take  leave,  on  the  same  day  with  myself.  The 
service  is  exceedingly  popular  with  the  king,  and  our  reception, 
of  course,  was  most  gracious ;  though  I  thought  the  eye  of  roy- 
alty looked  on  me  as  if  it  remembered  one  or  two  of  my  juvenile 
votes  in  the  house,  on  the  subject  of  these  unhappy  dissensions." 

"  You  voted  against  the  Port  Bill,"  said  Polwarth,  "  out  of 
regard  to  me  ?" 

"  No ;  there  I  joined  the  ministry.  The  conduct  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Boston  had  provoked  the  measure,  and  there  were  hardly 
two  minds  in  Parliament  on  that  question." 

"  Ah !  Major  Lincoln,  you  are  a  happy  man,"  said  the  cap- 
tain ;  "  a  seat  in  Parliament  at  five-and-twenty !  I  must  think 
that  I  should  prefer  just  such  an  occupation  to  all  others ;  the 
very  name  is  taking — a  seat !  You  have  two  members  for  your 
borough :  who  fills  the  second  now  ?" 

"  Say  nothing  on  that  subject,  I  entreat  you,"  whispered  Lio- 
nel, pressing  the  arm  of  the  other  as  he  rose ;  "  'tis  not  filled  by 
him  who  should  occupy  it,  as  you  know.  Shall  we  descend  to 
the  common  ?  there  are  many  friends  that  I  could  wish  to  see 
before  the  bell  calls  us  to  church." 

"  Yes ;  this  is  a  church-going,  or  rather,  meeting-going  place ; 
for  most  of  the  good  people  forswear  the  use  of  the  word  church, 
as  we  abjure  the  supremacy  of  the  Pope,"  returned  Polwarth,  fol- 
lowing in  his  companion's  footstep.  "  I  never  think  of  attending 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


67 


any  of  their  scliism-sliops,  for  I  would  any  day  rather  stand  sen- 
tinel over  a  baggage-wagon  than  stand  up  to  hear  one  of  their 
prayers.  I  can  do  very  well  at  the  King's  Chapel,  as  they 
call  it ;  for  when  I  am  once  comfortably  fixed  on  my  knees,  I 
make  out  as  well  as  my  lord  archbishop  of  Canterbury ;  though 
it  has  always  been  matter  of  surprise  to  me  how  any  man  can 
find  breath  to  go  through  their  work  of  a  morniDg." 

They  descended  the  hill,  as  Lionel  replied,  and  their  forms 
were  soon  blended  with  those  of  twenty  others,  who  wore  scarlet 
coats,  on  the  common. 


63 


LIOKEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  V. 

"  For  us,  and  for  our  tragedy, 
Here  stooping  to  your  clemency, 
We  beg  your  hearing  patiently."  Hamlet. 

We  must  now  carry  the  reader  back  a  century,  in  order  to 
clear  our  tale  of  every  appearance  of  ambiguity.  Eeginald 
Lincoln  was  a  cadet  of  an  extremely  ancient  and  wealthy  family, 
whose  possessions  were  suffered  to  continue  as  appendages  to  a 
baronetcy,  throughout  all  the  changes  which  marked  the  event- 
ful periods  of  the  commonwealth  and  the  usurpation  of  Crom- 
well. He  had  himself,  however,  inherited  little  more  than  a 
morbid  sensibility,  which,  even  in  that  age,  appeared  to  be  a 
sort  of  heir-loom  to  his  family.  While  still  a  young  man,  he 
had  married  a  woman  to  whom  he  was  much  attached,  who 
died  in  giving  birth  to  her  first  child.  The  grief  of  the  hus- 
band took  a  direction  towards  religion ;  but  unhappily,  instead 
of  deriving  from  his  researches  that  healing  consolation  with 
which  our  faith  abounds,  his  mind  became  soured  by  the  preva- 
lent but  discordant  views  of  the  attributes  of  the  Deity ;  and  the 
result  of  his  conversion  was  to  leave  him  an  ascetic  puritan  and 
an  obstinate  predestinarian.  That  such  a  man,  finding  but  little 
to  connect  him  with  his  native  country,  should  revolt  at  the  im- 
pure practices  of  the  court  of  Charles,  is  not  surprising ;  and 
accordingly,  though  not  at  all  implicated  in  the  guilt  of  the 
regicides,  he  departed  for  the  rehgious  province  of  Massachusetts 
Bay,  in  the  first  years  of  the  reign  of  that  merry  prince. 

It  was  not  difficult  for  a  man  of  the  rank  and  reputed  sanc- 
tity of  Reginald  Lincoln  to  obtain  both  honorable  and  lucrative 
employments  in  the  plantations,  and,  after  the  first  glow  of  hia 
awakened  ardor  in  behalf  of  spiritual  matters  had  a  little  abated, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


69 


he  failed  not  to  improve  a  due  portion  of  his  time  by  a  com- 
mendable attention  to  temporal  things.  To  the  day  of  his 
death,  however,  he  continued  a  gloomy,  austere,  and  bigoted 
relig-ionist,  seemingly  too  regardless  of  the  vanities  of  this  world 
to  permit  his  pure  imagination  to  mingle  with  its  dross,  even 
while  he  submitted  to  discharge  its  visible  duties.  Notwith- 
standing this  elevation  of  mind,  his  son,  at  the  decease  of  his 
father,  found  himself  in  the  possession  of  many  goodly  effects ; 
which  were,  questionless,  the  accumulations  of  a  neglected  use, 
during  the  days  of  his  sublimated  progenitor. 

Young  Lionel  so  far  followed  in  the  steps  of  his  worthy  pa- 
rent as  to  continue  gathering  honors  and  riches  into  his  lap ; 
though,  owing  to  an  early  disappointment,  and  the  inheritance 
of  the  "  heir-loom"  already  mentioned,  it  w^as  late  in  life  before 
he  found  a  partner  to  share  his  happiness.  Contrary  to  all  the 
usual  calculations  that  are  made  on  the  choice  of  a  man  of  self- 
denial,  he  was  then  united  to  a  youthful  and  gay  Episcopalian, 
who  kad  little,  besides  her  exquisite  beauty  and  good  blood,  to 
recommend  her.  By  this  lady  he  had  four  children,  three  sons 
and  a  daughter,  when  he  also  was  laid  in  the  vault  by  the  side 
of  his  deceased  parent.  The  eldest  of  these  sons  was  yet  a  boy 
when  he  was  called  to  the  mother  country  to  inherit  the  estates 
and  honors  of  his  family.  The  second,  named  Reginald,  who 
was  bred  to  arms,  married,  had  a  son,  and  lost  his  life  in  the 
wilds  where  he  w^as  required  to  serve,  before  he  was  five-and- 
twenty.  The  third  was  the  grandfather  of  Agnes  Danforth,  and 
the  daughter  was  Mrs.  Lechmere. 

The  family  of  Lincoln,  considering  the  shortness  of  their 
marriages,  had  been  extremely  prolific,  while  in  the  colonies, 
according  to  that  wise  allotment  of  Providence,  which  ever 
seems  to  regulate  the  functions  of  our  nature  by  our  wants ;  but 
the  instant  it  was  reconveyed  to  the  populous  island  of  Britain, 
it  entirely  lost  its  reputation  for  fruitfulness.  Sir  Lionel  lived  to 
a  good  age,  married,  but  died  childless ;  notwithstandiug,  when 
his  body  lay  in  state,  it  was  under  a  splendid  roof,  and  in  halls 


70 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


80  capacious  tliat  they  would  have  afforded  comfortable  sheltei 
to  the  whole  family  of  Priam. 

By  this  fatality  it  became  necessary  to  cross  the  Atlantic  once 
more  to  find  an  heir  to  the  wide  domains  of  Ravenscliffe,  and  to 
one  of  the  oldest  baronetcies  in  the  kingdom. 

We  have  planted  and  reared  this  genealogical  tree  to  but  lit- 
tle purpose,  if  it  be  necessary  to  tell  the  reader  that  the  indi- 
vidual who  had  now  become  the  head  of  his  race  was  the 
orphan  son  of  the  deceased  officer.  He  was  married,  and  the 
father  of  one  blooming  boy,  when  this  elevation,  which  was  not 
unlocked  for,  occurred.  Leaving  his  wife  and  child  behind  him, 
Sir  Lionel  immediately  proceeded  to  England  to  assert  his 
rights  and  secure  his  possessions.  As  he  was  the  nephew  and 
acknowledged  heir  of  the  late  incumbent,  he  met  with  no  oppo- 
sition to  the  more  important  parts  of  his  claims.  Across  the 
character  and  fortunes  of  this  gentleman,  however,  a  dark  cloud 
had  early  passed,  which  prevented  the  common  eye  from  read- 
ing the  events  of  his  life,  Hke  those  of  other  men,  in  its  open 
and  intelligible  movements.  After  his  accession  to  fortune  and 
rank,  but  little  was  known  of  him,  even  by  his  earliest  and  most 
intimate  associates.  It  was  rumored,  it  is  true,  that  he  had 
been  detained  in  England  for  two  years  by  a  vexatious  conten- 
tion for  a  petty  appendage  to  his  large  estates,  a  controversy 
which  was,  however,  known  to  have  been  decided  in  his  favor, 
before  he  was  recalled  to  Boston  by  the  sudden  death  of  his 
wife.  This  calamity  befell  him  during  the  period  when  the  war 
of  '56  was  raging  in  its  greatest  violence  :  a  time  when  the  en- 
ergies of  the  colonies  were  directed  to  the  assistance  of  the 
mother  country,  who,  according  to  the  language  of  the  day, 
was  zealously  endeavoring  to  defeat  the  ambitious  views  of  the 
French,  in  this  hemisphere  ;  or,  what  amounted  to  the  same 
thing  in  effect,  in  struggHng  to  advance  her  own. 

It  was  an  interesting  period,  when  the  mild  and  peaceful 
colonists  were  seen  to  shake  off  their  habits  of  forbearance,  and 
to  enter  into  the  strife  with  an  alacrity  and  spirit  that  soon 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


71 


emulated  the  utmost  daring  of  their  more  practised  confede- 
rates. To  the  amazement  of  all  who  knew  his  fortunes,  Sir 
Lionel  Lincoln  was  seen  to  embark  in  many  of  the  most  despe- 
rate adventures  that  distinguished  the  war,  with  a  hardihood 
that  rather  sought  death  than  courted  honor.  He  had  been, 
like  his  father,  trained  to  arms,  but  the  regiment  in  which  he 
held  the  commission  of  lieutenant-colonel,  was  serving  his 
master  in  the  most  eastern  of  his  dominions,  while  the  uneasy 
soldier  was  thus  rushing  from  point  to  point,  hazarding  his  life, 
and  more  than  once  shedding  his  blood,  in  the  enterprises  that 
signalized  the  war  in  the  most  western. 

This  dangerous  career,  however,  was  at  length  suddenly  and 
mysteriously  checked.  By  the  influence  of  some  powerful 
agency,  that  was  never  explained,  the  baronet  was  induced  to 
take  his  son,  and  embark  once  more  for  the  land  of  their  fathers, 
from  which  the  former  had  never  been  known  to  return.  For 
many  years,  all  those  inquiries  which  the  laudable  curiosity  of 
the  townsmen  and  townswomen  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  prompted 
them  to  make,  concerning  the  fate  of  her  nephew  (and  we  leave 
each  of  our  readers  to  determine  their  numbers),  were  answered 
by  that  lady  with  the  most  courteous  reserve ;  and  sometimes 
with  such  exhibitions  of  emotion,  as  we  have  already  attempted 
to  describe  in  her  first  interview  with  his  son.  But  constant 
dropping  will  wear  away  a  stone.  At  first  there  were  rumors 
that  the  baronet  had  committed  treason,  and  had  been  com- 
pelled to  exchange  Eavenscliffe  for  a  less  comfortable  dwelling 
in  the  Tower  of  London.  This  report  was  succeeded  by  that  of 
an  unfortunate  private  marriage  with  one  of  the  princesses  of 
the  house  of  Brunswick ;  but  a  reference  to  the  calendars  of  the 
day  showed  that  there  was  no  lady  of  a  suitable  age  disen- 
gaged ;  and  this  amour,  so  creditable  to  the  provinces,  was  neces- 
sarily abandoned.  Finally,  the  assertion  was  made,  with  much 
more  of  the  confidence  of  truth,  that  the  unhappy  Sir  Lionel 
was  the  tenant  of  a  private  madhouse. 

The  instant  this  rumor  was  circulated,  a  film  fell  from  every 


72 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


eye,  and  none  were  so  blind  as  not  to  have  seen  indications  of 
insanity  in  tlie  baronet  long  before  ;  and  not  a  few  were  enabled 
to  trace  his  legitimate  right  to  lunacy  through  the  hereditary 
bias  of  his  race.  To  account  for  its  sudden  exhibition,  was  a 
more  difficult  task,  and  exercised  the  ingenuity  of  an  exceedingly 
ingenious  people  for  a  long  period. 

The  more  sentimental  part  of  the  community,  such  as  the 
maidens  and  bachelors,  and  those  votaries  of  Ilymen  who  had 
twice  and  thrice  proved  the  solacing  power  of  the  god,  did  not 
fail  to  ascribe  the  misfortune  of  the  baronet  to  the  unhappy  loss 
of  his  wife ;  a  lady  to  whom  he  was  known  to  be  most  pas- 
sionately attached.  A  few,  the  relics  of  the  good  old  school, 
under  whose  intellectual  sway  the  incarnate  persons  of  so  many 
godless  dealers  in  necromancy  had  been  made  to  expiate  for 
their  abominations,  pointed  to  the  calamity  as  a  merited  punish- 
ment on  the  backslidings  of  a  family  that  had  once  known  the 
true  faith ;  while  a  third,  and  by  no  means  a  small  class,  com- 
posed of  those  worthies  who  braved  the  elements  in  King-street, 
in  quest  of  filthy  lucre,  did  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  sudden 
acquisition  of  vast  wealth  had  driven  many  a  better  man  mad. 
But  the  time  was  approaching,  when  the  apparently  irresistible 
propensity  to  speculate  on  the  fortunes  of  a  fellow-creature  was 
made  to  yield  to  more  important  considerations.  The  hour 
soon  arrived  when  the  merchant  forgot  his  momentary  interests 
lo  look  keenly  into  the  distant  effects  that  were  to  succeed  the 
movements  of  the  day;  which  taught  the  fanatic  the  whole- 
some lesson,  that  Providence  smiled  most  beneficently  on  those 
who  most  merited,  by  their  own  efforts,  its  favors ;  and  which 
even  purged  the  breast  of  the  sentimentalist  of  its  sickly  tenant, 
to  be  succeeded  by  the  healthy  and  ennobling  passion  of  love 
of  country. 

It  was  about  this  period  that  the  contest  for  principle  between 
the  Parliament  of  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies  of  North 
America  commenced,  that  in  time  led  to  those  important  re- 
sults which  have  established  a  new  era  in  political  liberty,  on 


1.  rONEL  LINCOLN. 


7.3 


well  as  a  mighty  empire.  A  brief  glance  at  the  nature  of  this 
controversy  may  assist  in  rendering  many  of  the  allusions  in 
this  legend  more  intelligible  to  some  of  its  readers. 

The  increasing  wealth  of  the  provinces  had  attracted  the 
notice  of  the  English  ministry  so  early  as  the  year  1763.  In 
that  year  the  first  effort  to  raise  a  revenue  which  was  to  meet 
the  exigencies  of  the  empire,  was  attempted  by  the  passage  of  a 
law  to  impose  a  duty  on  certain  stamped  paper,  which  was  made 
necessary  to  give  vahdity  to  contracts.  This  method  of  raising 
a  revenue  was  not  new  in  itself,  nor  was  the  imposition  heavy 
in  amount.  But  the  Americans,  not  less  sagacious  than  waiy, 
perceived  at  a  glance  the  importance  of  the  principles  involved 
in  the  admission  of  a  right  as  belonging  to  any  body  to  lay 
taxes,  in  which  they  were  not  represented.  The  question  was 
not  without  its  difficulties,  but  the  direct  and  plain  argument 
was  clearly  on  the  side  of  the  colonists.  Aware  of  the  force  of 
their  reasons,  and  perhaps  a  little  conscious  of  the  strength  of 
their  numbers,  they  approached  the  subject  with  a  spirit  which 
betokened  this  consciousness,  but  with  a  coolness  that  denoted 
the  firmness  of  their  purpose.  After  a  struggle  of  nearly  two 
years,  during  which  the  law  was  rendered  completely  profitless 
by  the  unanimity  among  the  people,  as  well  as  by  a  species  of 
good-humored  violence  that  rendered  it  exceedingly  incon- 
venient, and  perhaps  a  little  dangerous,  to  the  servants  of  the 
crown  to  exercise  their  obnoxious  functions,  the  ministry  aban- 
doned the  measure.  But,  at  the  same  time  that  the  law  was 
repealed,  the  Parliament  maintained  its  right  to  bind  the  colo- 
nies in  all  cases  whatsoever,  by  recording  a  resolution  to  that 
efiect  in  its  journals. 

That  an  empire,  whose  several  parts  were  separated  by 
oceans,  and  whose  interests  were  so  often  conflicting,  should 
become  unwieldy,  and  fall,  in  time,  by  its  ovv^n  weight,  was  an 
event  that  all  wise  men  must  have  expected  to  arrive.  But, 
that  the  Americans  did  not  contemplate  such  a  division  at  that 
early  day,  may  be  fairly  inferred,  if  there  were  no  other  testi- 

4 


74 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


mony  in  the  matter,  by  the  quiet  and  submission  that  per- 
vaded the  colonies  the  instant  that  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act 
was  known.  Had  any  desire  for  premature  independence  ex- 
isted, the  Parliament  had  unwisely  furnished  abundant  fuel  to 
feed  the  flame,  in  the  very  resolution  already  mentioned.  But, 
satisfied  with  the  soUd  advantages  they  had  secured,  peaceful  in 
their  habits,  and  loyal  in  their  feelings,  the  colonists  laughed 
at  the  empty  dignity  of  their  self-constituted  rulers,  while  they 
congratulated  each  other  on  their  own  more  substantial  suc- 
cess. If  the  besotted  servants  of  the  king  had  learned  wisdom 
by  the  past,  the  storm  would  have  blown  over,  and  another  age 
would  have  witnessed  the  events  which  we  are  about  to  re- 
late. Things  were  hardly  suffered,  however,  to  return  to  their 
old  channels  again,  before  the  ministry  attempted  to  revive 
their  claims  by  new  impositions.  The  design  to  raise  a  revenue 
had  been  defeated  in  the  case  of  the  Stamp  Act,  by  the  refusal 
of  the  colonists  to  use  the  paper ;  but  in  the  present  instance, 
expedients  were  adopted,  which,  it  was  thought,  would  be  more 
effective — as  in  the  case  of  tea,  where  the  duty  was  paid  by 
the  East  India  Company  in  the  first  instance,  and  the  exaction 
was  to  be  made  on  the  Americans,  through  their  appetites. 
These  new  innovations  on  their  rights  were  met  by  the  colo- 
nists with  the  same  promptitude,  but  with  much  more  of  se- 
riousness, than  in  the  former  instances.  All  the  provinces 
south  of  the  Great  Lakes  acted  in  concert  on  this  occasion  ; 
and  preparations  were  made  to  render  not  only  their  remon- 
strances and  petitions  more  impressive  by  a  unity  of  action, 
but  their  more  serious  struggles  also,  should  an  appeal  to  force 
become  necessary.  The  tea  was  stored  or  sent  back  to  Eng- 
land, in  most  cases ;  though,  in  the  town  of  Boston,  a  con- 
currence of  circumstances  led  to  the  violent  measure,  on  the 
part  :>f  the  people,  of  throwing  a  large  quantity  of  the  offensive 
article  into  the  sea.  To  punish  this  act,  which  took  place  in 
the  early  part  of  1Y74,  the  port  of  Boston  w^as  closed,  and 
different  laws  were  enacted  in  Parliament,  which  were  intended 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


to  bring  the  people  back  to  a  sense  of  their  depeiidence  on  the 
British  power. 

Although  the  complaints  of  the  colonists  were  hushed  during 
the  short  interval  that  had  succeeded  the  suspension  of  the 
efforts  of  the  ministry  to  tax  them,  the  feelings  of  aliendtion 
which  were  engendered  by  the  attempt  had  not  time  to  be  lost 
before  the  obnoxious  subject  was  revived  in  its  new  shape. 
From  1763  to  the  period  of  our  tale,  all  the  younger  part  of 
the  population  of  the  provinces  had  grown  into  manhood,  hut 
they  were  no  longer  imbued  with  that  profound  respect  for  the 
mother  country  which  had  been  transmitted  from  their  ances- 
tors, or  with  that  deep  loyalty  to  the  crown  that  usually  char- 
acterizes a  people  who  view  the  pageant  of  royalty  through 
the  medium  of  distance.  Still,  those  who  guided  the  feelings 
and  controlled  the  judgments  of  the  Americans  were  averse  to 
a  dismemberment  of  the  empire,  a  measure  which  they  con- 
tinued to  beheve  both  impolitic  and  unnatural. 

In  the  mean  time,  though  equally  reluctant  to  shed  blood, 
the  adverse  parties  prepared  for  that  final  struggle  which 
seemed  to  be  unavoidably  approaching.  The  situation  of  the 
colonies  was  now  so  peculiar,  that  it  may  be  doubted  whether 
history  furnishes  a  precise  parallel.  Their  fealty  to  the  prince 
was  everywhere  acknowledged,  while  the  laws  which  emanated 
from  his .  counsellors  were  sullenly  disregarded  and  set  at 
naught.  Each  province  possessed  its  distinct  government,  and 
in  most  of  them  the  political  influence  of  the  crown  was  direct 
and  great ;  but  the  time  had  arrived  when  it  was  superseded 
by  a  moral  feehng  that  defied  the  machinations  and  intrigues 
of  the  ministry.  Such  of  the  provincial  legislatures  as  pos- 
sessed a  majorfty  of  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty,"  as  they  who  re- 
gisted  the  unconstitutional  attempts  of  the  ministry  were  teimed, 
elected  delegates  to  meet  in  a  general  congress  to  consult  on  the 
ways  and  means  of  effecting  the  common  objects.  In  one  or 
two  provinces,  where  the  inequality  of  rej^resentatit^n  afforded 
a  different  result,  the  people  supplied  the  deficiencies  by  acting 


76  LIONELLINCOLN. 

in  their  original  capacity.  This  body,  meeting,  unlike  conspir- 
ators, with  the  fearless  confidence  of  integrity,  and  acting  under 
the  excitement  of  a  revolution  in  sentiment,  possessed  an  influ- 
ence which,  at  a  later  day,  has  been  denied  to  their  more  le- 
gally constituted  successors.  Their  recommendations  possessed 
all  the  validity  of  laws,  without  incurring  their  odimn.  While, 
as  the  organ  of  their  fellow-subjects,  they  still  continued  to  pe- 
tition and  remonstrate,  they  did  not  forget  to  oppose,  by  such 
means  as  were  then  thought  expedient,  the  oppressive  measures 
of  the  ministry. 

An  association  was  recommended  to  the  people,  for  those 
purposes  that  are  amply  expressed  in  the  three  divisions  which 
were  significantly  given  to  the  subjects,  in  calling  them  by  the 
several  names  of  "  non-importation,"  "  non-exportation,"  and 
"  non-consumption  resolutions."  These  negative  expedients 
were  all  that  was  constitutionally  in  their  power,  and,  through- 
out the  whole  controversy,  there  had  been  a  guarded  care  not 
to  exceed  the  limits  which  the  laws  had  affixed  to  the  rights 
of  the  subject.  Though  no  overt  act  of  resistance  was  commit- 
ted, they  did  not,  however,  neglect  such  means  as  were  attain- 
able, to  be  prepared  for  the  last  evil,  whenever  it  should  arrive. 
In  this  manner,  a  feehng  of  resentment  and  disaffection  was 
daily  increasing  throughout  the  provinces,  while  in  Massachu- 
setts Bay,  the  more  immediate  scene  of  our  story,  the  disorder 
in  the  body  politic  seemed  to  be  inevitably  gathering  to  its 
head. 

The  great  principles  of  the  controversy  had  been  blended,  in 
different  places,  with  various  causes  of  local  complaint,  and  in 
none  more  than  in  the  town  of  Boston.  The  inhabitants  of  this 
place  had  been  distinguished  for  an  early,  open,  and  fearless  re- 
sistance to  the  ministry.  An  armed  force  had  long  leen 
thought  necessary  to  intimidate  this  spirit,  to  effect  which  the 
troops  were  drawn  from  difterent  parts  of  the  provinces,  and 
concentrated  in  this  devoted  town.  Early  in  1774,  a  mili- 
tary man  was  placed  in  the  executive  chair  of  the  province, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


77 


and  an  attitude  of  more  determination  was  assumed  by  tlie 
government.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  this  gentleman,  who  held 
the  high  station  of  lieutenant-general,  and  who  commanded  all 
the  forces  of  the  king  in  America,  was  to  dissolve  the  colonial 
assembly.  About  the  same  time  a  new  charter  was  sent  from 
England,  and  a  material  change  was  contemplated  in  the  polity 
of  the  colonial  government.  From  this  moment  the  power 
of  the  king,  though  it  was  not  denied,  became  suspended  in  the 
province.  A  provincial  congress  was  elected,  and  assembled 
within  seven  leagues  of  the  capital,  where  they  continued,  from 
time  to  time,  to  adopt  such  measures  as  the  exigencies  of  the 
time  were  thought  to  render  necessary.  Men  were  enrolled, 
disciplined,  and  armed,  as  well  as  the  imperfect  means  of  the 
colony  would  allow.  These  troops,  who  were  no  more  than  the 
elite  of  the  inhabitants,  had  little  else  to  recommend  them  be- 
sides their  spirit,  and  their  manual  dexterity  with  firearms. 
From  the  expected  nature  of  their  service,  they  were  not  un- 
aptly termed  "  minute-men."  The  munitions  of  war  were 
seized,  and  hoarded  with  a  care  and  diligence  that  showed  the 
character  of  the  impending  conflict. 

On  the  other  hand.  General  Gage  adopted  a  similar  course 
of  preparation  and  prevention,  by  fortifying  himself  in  the 
stronghold  which  he  possessed,  and  by  anticipating  the  inten- 
tions of  the  colonists,  in  their  attempts  to  form  magazines, 
whenever  it  was  in  his  power.  He  had  an  easy  task  in  the 
former,  both  from  the  natural  situation  of  the  place  he  occu- 
pied, and  the  species  of  force  he  commanded. 

Surrounded  by  broad  and  chiefly  by  deep  waters,  except  at 
one  extremely  narrow  point,  and  possessing  its  triple  hills, 
which  are  not  commanded  by  any  adjacent  eminences,  the 
peninsula  of  Boston  could,  with  a  competent  garrison,  easily  be 
made  impregnable,  especially  when  aided  by  a  superior  fleet. 
The  works  erected  by  the  English  general  were,  however,  by  no 
means  of  magnitude  ;  for  it  was  well  known  that  the  whole 
park  of  the  colonists  could  not  exceed  some  half  dozen  pieces 


73 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


of  field  artillery,  with  a  small  battering  train  that  must  be  en- 
tirely composed  of  old  and  cumbrous  ship-guns.  Consequently, 
when  Lionel  arrived  in  Boston,  he  found  a  few  batteries  thrown 
up  on  the  eminences,  some  of  which  were  intended  as  much  to 
control  the  town,  as  to  repel  an  enemy  from  without,  while 
lines  were  drawn  across  the  neck  which  communicated  with 
the  main.  The  garrison  consisted  of  something  less  than  five 
thousand  men,  besides  which  there  was  a  fluctuating  force 
of  seamen  and  marines,  as  the  vessels  of  war  arrived  and  de- 
parted. 

All  this  time,  there  was  no  other  interruption  to  the  inter- 
course between  the  town  and  the  country,  than  such  as  una- 
voidably succeeded  the  stagnation  of  trade,  and  the  distrust 
engendered  by  the  aspect  of  afi*airs.  Though  numberless  fami- 
lies had  deserted  their  homes,  many  known  whigs  continued 
to  dwell  in  their  habitations,  where  their  ears  were  deafened  by 
the  sounds  of  the  British  drums,  and  where  their  spirits  were 
but  too  often  galled  by  the  sneers  of  the  ofiicers,  on  the  uncouth 
military  preparations  of  their  countrymen.  Indeed,  an  impres- 
sion had  spread  farther  than  among  the  idle  and  thoughtless 
youths  of  the  army,  that  the  colonists  were  but  little  gifted 
with  martial  qualities ;  and  many  of  their  best  friends  in  Eu- 
rope were  in  dread,  lest  an  appeal  to  force  should  put  the  con- 
tested points  forever  at  rest,  by  proving  the  incompetency  of  the 
Americans  to  maintain  them  to  the  last  extremity. 

In  this  manner,  both  parties  stood  at  bay;  the  peoj)le  living 
in  perfect  order  and  quiet,  without  the  administration  of  law, 
sullen,  vigilant,  and,  through  their  leaders,  secretly  alert ;  and 
the  army,  gay,  haughty,  and  careless  of  the  consequences, 
though  far  from  being  oppressive  or  insolent,  until  after  the  de- 
feat of  one  or  two  abortive  excursions  into  the  country  in  quest 
of  arms.  Each  hour,  however,  was  rapidly  adding  to  the  disat- 
fection  on  one  side,  and  to  the  contempt  and  resentment  on  the 
other,  through  numberless  public  and  private  causes,  that  be- 
long rather  to  history  than  to  a  legend  like  this.    All  extraor- 


J  I  O  N  E  I.    I  J  ^  C  0  I.  N. 


70 


dinary  occupations  were  suspended,  and  men  awaited  the  course 
cf  things  in  anxious  expectation.  It  was  known  that  the  Par- 
Hament,  instead  of  retracing  their  pohtical  errors,  had  imposed 
new  restraints,  and,  as  has  been  mentioned,  it  was  also  ru- 
mored that  regiments  and  fleets  were  on  their  way  to  enforce 
them. 

How  long  a  country  could  exist  in  such  a  primeval  condi- 
tion remained  to  be  seen,  though  it  was  difficult  to  say  when 
or  how  it  was  to  terminate.  The  people  of  the  land  appeared 
to  slumber ;  but,  like  vigilant  and  wary  soldiers,  they  might  be 
said  to  sleep  on  their  arms ;  while  the  troops  assumed,  each 
day,  more  of  that  tearful  preparation  which  gives,  even  to  the 
trained  warrior,  a  more  martial  aspect — though  both  parties 
still  continued  to  manifest  a  becoming  reluctance  to  shed 
blood 


£0 


LIONEL    L  1  N  C  O  I*  N . 


CHAPTER  VI. 

"  "Would  he  were  fatter :— but  I  fear  him  not : — 
Seldom  he  smiles ;  and  smiles  in  such  a  sort, 
As  if  he  mocked  himself,  and  scorned  his  spirit 
That  could  be  moved  to  smile  at  any  thing." 

Julius  C^as. 

In  the  course  of  the  succeeding  week,  Lionel  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  many  minor  circumstances  relating  to  the  condi- 
tion of  the  colonies,  which  may  be  easily  imagined  as  incidental 
to  the  times,  but  which  would  greatly  exceed  our  limits  to  re- 
late. He  was  received  by  his  brethren  in  arms  with  that  sort 
of  cordiality  that  a  rich,  high-spirited,  and  free,  if  not  a  jovial 
comrade,  was  certain  of  meeting  among  men  who  lived  chiefly 
for  pleasure  and  appearance.  Certain  indications  of  more  than 
usually  important  movements  were  discovered  among  the 
troops  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  his  own  condition  in  the 
army  was  in  some  measure  affected  by  the  changes.  Instead 
of  joining  his  particular  regiment,  he  was  ordered  to  hold  him- 
self in  readiness  to  take  a  command  in  the  light  corps,  which 
had  begun  its  drill  for  the  service  that  was  peculiar  to  such 
troops.  As  it  was  well  known  that  Boston  was  Major  Lincoln's 
place  of  nativity,  the  commander-in-chief,  with  the  indulgence 
and  kindness  of  his  character,  granted  to  him,  however,  a  short 
respite  from  duty,  in  order  that  he  might  indulge  in  the  feel- 
ings natural  to  his  situation.  It  was  soon  generally  understood 
that  Major  Lincoln,  though  intending  to  serve  with  the  army 
in  America,  should  the  sad  alternative  of  au  appeal  to  anns 
become  necessary,  had  permission  to  amur^e  hivaself  in  such  a 
manner  as  he  saw  fit,  for  two  months  from  the  date  of  his  arri« 
val.    Those  who  afiected  to  be  more  wise  than  common,  sa"^rj 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


81 


or  thouglit  they  saw,  in  this  arrangement,  a  deep-laid  plan  on 
the  part  of  Gage,  to  use  the  influence  and  address  of  the  young 
provincial  among  his  connections  and  natural  friends,  to  draw 
them  back  to  those  sentiments  of  loyalty  which  it  was  feared  so 
many  among  them  had  forgotten  to  entertain.  But  it  was  the 
characteristic  of  the  times  to  attach  importance  to  trifling  inci- 
dents, and  to  suspect  a  concealed  policy  in  movements  which 
emanated  only  in  inclination. 

There  was  nothing,  however,  in  the  deportment,  or  manner  of 
life  adopted  by  Lionel,  to  justify  any  of  these  conjectures.  He 
continued  to  dwell  in  the  house  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  in  person, 
though,  unwilling  to  burden  the  hospitality  of  his  aunt  too 
heavily,  he  had  taken  lodgings  in  a  dwelling  at  no  great  dis- 
tance, where  his  servants  resided,  and  where  it  was  generally 
understood  that  his  visits  of  ceremony  and  friendship  were  to 
be  received.  Captain  Polwarth  did  not  fail  to  complain  loudly 
of  this  arrangement,  as  paralyzing  at  once  all  the  advantages  he 
had  anticipated  from  enjoying  the  entre  to  the  dwelling  of  his 
mistress,  in  the  right  of  his  friend.  But  as  the  establishment 
of  Lionel  was  supported  with  much  of  that  liberality  which  was 
becoming  in  a  youth  of  his  large  fortune,  the  exuberant  light- 
infantry  officer  found  many  sources  of  consolation  in  the  change, 
which  could  not  have  existed  had  the  staid  Mrs.  Lechmere 
presided  over  the  domestic  department.  Lionel  and  Polwarth 
had  been  boys  together  at  the  same  school,  members  of  the 
same  college  at  Oxford,  and  subsequently,  for  many  years,  com- 
rades in  the  same  corps.  Though,  perhaps,  no  two  men  in  their 
regiment  were  more  essentially  different  in  mental  as  well  as 
physical  constitution,  yet,  by  that  unaccountable  caprice  which 
causes  us  to  like  our  opposites,  it  is  certain  that  no  two  gentle- 
men in  the  service  were  known  to  be  on  better  terms,  or  to 
maintain  a  more  close  and  unreserved  intimacy.  It  is  unneces- 
sary to  dilate  here  on  this  singular  friendship ;  it  occurs  every 
day,  between  men  still  m6re  discordant,  the  result  of  accident 
and  habit,  and  is  often,  as  in  the  present  instance,  cemented  by 


82 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


unconquerable  good-nature  in  one  of  the  parties.  For  this 
latter  qualification  Captain  Polwarth  was  eminent,  if  for  no 
other.  It  contributed  quite  as  much  as  his  science  in  the  art  of 
living,  to  the  thriving  condition  of  the  corporeal  moiety  of  the 
man,  and  it  rendered  a  communion  with  the  less  material  part 
at  all  times  inoffensive,  if  not  agreeable. 

On  the  present  occasion,  the  captain  took  charge  of  the  in- 
ternal economy  of  Lionel's  lodgings,  with  a  zeal  which  he  did 
not  even  pretend  was  disinterested.  By  the  rules  of  the  regi- 
ment he  was  compelled  to  live  nominally  with  the  mess,  where 
he  found  his  talents  and  his  wishes  fettered  by  divers  indispen- 
sable regulations,  and  economical  practices,  that  could  not  be 
easily  overleaped ;  but  with  Lionel,  just  such  an  opportunity 
offered  for  establishing  rules  of  his  own,  and  disregarding  ex- 
penditure, as  he  had  been  long  pining  for  in  secret.  Though 
the  poor  of  the  town  were,  in  the  absence  of  employment,  ne- 
cessarily supported  by  large  contributions  of  money,  clothing, 
and  food,  which  were  transmitted  to  their  aid  from  the  further- 
most parts  of  the  colonies,  the  markets  were  not  yet  wanting  in 
all  the  necessaries  of  life,  to  those  who  enjoyed  the  means  of 
purchasing.  With  this  disposition  of  things,  therefore,  he  be- 
came well  content,  and  within  the  first  fortnight  after  the  arrival 
of  Lionel,  it  became  known  to  the  mess,  that  Captain  Polwarth 
took  his  dinners  regularly  with  his  old  friend,  Major  Lincoln ; 
though  in  truth  the  latter  was  enjoying,  more  than  half  the 
time,  the  hospitality  of  the  respective  tables  of  the  ofiicers  of 
the  staff. 

In  the  mean  time  Lionel  cultivated  his  acquaintance  in  Tre- 
mont-street,  where  he  still  slept,  with  an  interest  and  assiduity 
that  the  awkwardness  of  his  fib^st  interview  would  not  have 
taught  us  to  expect.  With  Mrs.  Lechmere,  it  is  true,  he  made 
but  little  progress  in  intimacy;  for,  equally  formal,  though 
polite,  she  was  at  all  times  enshrouded  in  a  cloud  of  artific  ial, 
but  cold  management,  that  gave  him  little  opportunity,  had  he 
poasessed  the  desire,  to  break  through  the  reserve  of  her  calcu- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


83 


la  ting  temperament.  With  his  more  youthful  kinswomen,  the 
case  was,  however,  in  a  very  few  days,  entirely  reversed.  Agnes 
Danforth,  who  had  nothing  to  conceal,  began  insensibly  to  yield 
to  the  manliness  and  grace  of  his  manner,  and  before  the  end 
of  the  first  week,  she  maintained  the  rights  of  the  colonists, 
laughed  at  the  follies  of  the  ofiicers,  and  then  acknowledged 
her  own  prejudices,  with  a  familiarity  and  good-humor  that 
soon  made  her,  in  her  turn,  a  favorite  with  her  English  cousin, 
as  she  termed  Lionel.  But  he  found  the  demeanor  of  Cecil 
Dynevor  much  more  embarrassing,  if  not  inexplicable.  For 
days  she  would  be  distant,  silent,  and  haughty,  and  then  again, 
as  it  were  by  sudden  impulses,  she  became  easy  and  natural ; 
her  whole  soul  beaming  in  her  speaking  eyes,  or  her  innocent 
and  merry  humor  breaking  through  the  bounds  of  her  restraint, 
and  rendering  not  only  herself,  but  all  around  her,  happy  and 
delighted.  Full  many  an  hour  did  Lionel  ponder  on  this  un- 
accountable difference  in  the  manner  of  this  young  lady,  at 
difierent  moments.  There  was  a  secret  excitement  in  the  very 
caprices  of  her  humors,  that  had  a  piquant  interest  in  his  eyes, 
and  which,  aided  by  her  exquisite  form  and  intelligent  face, 
gradually  induced  him  to  become  a  more  close  observer  of  their 
waywardness,  and  consequently  a  more  assiduous  attendant  on 
her  movements.  In  consequence  of  this  assiduity,  the  manner 
of  Cecil  grew,  almost  imperceptibly,  less  variable,  and  more  uni- 
formly fascinating,  while  Lionel,  by  some  unaccountable  over- 
sight, soon  forgot  to  notice  its  changes,  or  even  to  miss  the 
excitement. 

In  a  mixed  society,  where  pleasure,  company,  and  a  multi- 
tude of  objects,  conspired  to  distract  the  attention,  such  altera- 
tions would  be  the  result  of  an  intercourse  for  months,  if  they 
ever  occurred ;  but  in  a  town  like  Boston,  from  which  most  of 
those  with  whom  Cecil  had  once  mingled  were  already  fled,  and 
where,  consequently,  those  who  remained  behind  lived  chiefly  for 
themselves  and  by  themselves,  it  was  no  more  than  the  obvious 
effect  of  very  apparent  causes.    In  this  manner  something  like 


84 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


good-will,  if  not  a  deeper  interest  in  each  other,  was  happily 
effected  within  that  memorable  fortnight,  which  w^as  teeming 
with  events  vastly  more  important  in  their  results  than  any  that 
can  appertain  to  the  fortunes  of  a  single  family. 

The  winter  of  1774-5  had  been  as  remarkable  for  its  mild- 
ness, as  the  spring  was  cold  and  lingering.  Like  every  season 
in  our  changeable  climate,  however,  the  chilling  days  of  March 
and  April  were  intermingled  with  some,  when  a  genial  sun  re- 
called the  ideas  of  summer,  which,  in  their  turn,  were  succeeded 
by  others,  when  the  torrents  of  cold  rain,  that  drove  before  the 
easterly  gales,  would  seem  to  repel  every  advance  towards  a 
milder  temperature.  Many  of  those  stormy  days  occurred  in 
the  middle  of  April,  and  during  their  continuance  Lionel  was 
necessarily  compelled  to  keep  himself  housed. 

He  had  retired  from  the  parlor  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  one  even- 
ing, when  the  rain  was  beating  against  the  windows  of  the 
house,  in  neai^ly  horizontal  Hnes,  to  complete  some  letters  -which, 
before  dining,  he  had  commenced  to  the  agent  of  his  family,  in 
England.  On  entering  his  own  apartment  he  was  startled  to 
find  the  room,  which  he  had  left  vacant,  and  which  he  ex- 
pected to  find  in  the  same  state,  occupied  in  a  manner  that  he 
could  not  anticipate.  The  light  of  a  strong  w^ood  fire  was  blaz- 
ing on  the  hearth,  and  throwing  about,  in  playful  changes,  the 
flickering  shadows  of  the  furniture,  and  magnifying  each  object 
into  some  strange  and  fantastical  figure.  As  he  stepped  within 
the  door,  his  eye  fell  upon  one  of  these  shadows,  which  extended 
along  the  wall,  and,  bending  against  the  ceiling,  exhibited  the 
gigantic  but  certain  outlines  of  the  human  form.  Recollecting 
that  he  had  left  his  letters  open,  and  a  little  distrusting  the  dis 
cretion  of  Meriton,  Lionel  advanced  lightly,  for  a  few  feet,  so  far 
as  to  be  able  to  look  round  the  drapery  of  his  bed,  and,  to  his 
amazement,  perceived  that  the  intruder  was  not  his  valet,  but 
the  aged  stranger.  The  old  man  sat  holding  in  his  hand  the 
open  letter  which  Lionel  had  been  writing,  and  continued  fio 
deeply  absorbed  in  its  contents  that  the  footsteps  of  the  other 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


85 


were  still  disregarded.  A  large  coarse  overcoat,  dripping  with 
water,  concealed  most  of  his  person,  though  the  white  hairs  that 
strayed  about  his  face  and  the  deep  lines  of  his  remarkable 
countenance  could  not  be  mistaken. 

"  I  was  ignorant  of  this  unexpected  visit,"  said  Lionel,  ad- 
vancing quickly  into  the  centre  of  the  room,  "  or  I  should  not 
have  been  so  tardy  in  returning  to  my  apartment,  where,  sir,  I 
fear  you  must  have  found  your  time  irksome,  with  nothing  but 
that  scrawl  to  amuse  you." 

The  old  man  dropped  the  paper  from  before  his  features,  and 
betrayed,  by  the  action,  the  large  drops  that  followed  each  other 
down  his  hollow  cheeks,  until  they  fell  even  to  the  floor.  The 
haughty  and  displeased  look  disappeared  from  the  countenance 
of  Lionel  at  this  sight,  and  he  was  on  the  point  of  speaking  in 
a  more  conciHating  manner,  when  the  stranger,  whose  eye  had 
not  quailed  before  the  angry  frown  it  encountered,  anticij)ated 
his  intention. 

"  I  comprehend  you.  Major  Lincoln,"  he  said,  calmly ;  "  but 
there  can  exist  justifiable  reasons  for  a  greater  breach  of  faith 
than  this  of  which  you  accuse  me.  Accident,  and  not  intention, 
has  put  me  in  possession,  here,  of  your  most  secret  thoughts  on 
a  subject  that  has  deep  interest  for  me.  You  have  urged  me 
often,  during  our  voyage,  to  make  you  acquainted  with  all  that 
you  most  desire  to  know  ;  to  which  request,  as  you  may  remem- 
ber, T  have  ever  been  silent." 

"  You  have  said,  sir,  that  you  are  master  of  a  secret  in  which 
my  feelings,  I  will  acknowledge,  are  deeply  interested,  and  1 
have  urged  you  to  remove  my  doubts  by  declaring  the  truth ; 
but  I  do  not  perceive — ^" 

"  How  a  desire  to  possess  my  secret  gives  me  a  claim  to  in- 
quire into  yours,  you  would  say,"  interrupted  the  stranger ;  "nor 
does  it.  But  an  interest  in  your  afiairs,  that  you  cannot  yet 
understand,  and  which  is  vouched  for  by  these  scalding  tears, 
the  first  that  have  fallen  in  years  from  a  fountain  that  I  had 
thought  dried,  should  and  must  satisfy  you." 


86 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"It  does,"  said  Lionel,  deeply  affected  by  the  melanclioly 
tones  of  his  voice ;  "  it  does,  it  does,  and  I  will  listen  to  no 
farther  explanation  on  the  unpleasant  subject.  You  see  nothing 
there,  I  am  sure,  of  which  a  son  can  have  reason  to  be  ashamed." 

"  I  see  much  here,  Lionel  Lincoln,  of  which  a  father  would 
have  reason  to  be  proud,"  returned  the  old  man.  "  It  was  the 
filial  love  which  you  have  displayed  in  this  paper  which  has 
drawn  these  drops  from  my  eyes ;  for  he  who  has  lived  as  I 
have  done,  beyond  the  age  of  man,  without  knowing  the  love 
that  the  parent  feels  for  its  offspring,  or  which  the  child  bears 
to  the  author  of  its  being,  must  have  outlived  his  natural  sym- 
pathies, not  to  be  conscious  of  his  misfortune,  when  chance 
makes  him  sensible  of  affections  like  these." 

"  You  have  never  been  a  father,  then  ?"  said  Lionel,  drawing 
a  chair  nigh  to  his  aged  companion,  and  seating  himself  with 
an  air  of  powerful  interest  that  he  could  not  control. 

"  Have  I  not  told  you  that  I  am  alone  ?"  returned  the  old 
man,  with  a  solemn  manner.  After  an  impressive  pause,  he 
continued,  though  his  tones  were  husky  and  low,  "  I  have  been 
both  husband  and  parent  in  my  day,  but  'tis  so  long  since  that 
no  selfish  tie  remains  to  bind  me  to  earth.  Old  age  is  the  neigh- 
bor of  death,  and  the  chill  of  the  grave  is  to  be  found  in  its 
warmest  breathings." 

"Say  not  so,"  , interrupted  Lionel,  "for  you  do  injustice  to 
your  own  warm  nature — you  forget  your  zeal  in  behalf  of  what 
you  deem  these  oppressed  colonies." 

"  'Tis  no  more  than  the  flickering  of  the  dying  lamp,  which 
flares  and  dazzles  most  when  its  source  of  heat  is  nighest  to  ex- 
tinction. But  though  I  may  not  infuse  into  your  bosom  a 
warmth  that  I  do  not  possess  myself,  I  can  point  out  the  dan- 
gers with  which  life  abounds,  and  serve  as  a  beacon  when  no 
longer  useful  as  a  pilot.  It  is  for  such  a  purpose,  Major  Lincoln, 
that  I  have  braved  the  tempest  of  to-night." 

"  Has  any  thing  occurred  which,  by  rendering  danger  press* 
Ing,  can  make  such  an  exposure  necessary  ?" 


LIOKEL  LINCOLN. 


87 


"  Look  at  me,"  said  the  old  man,  earnestly :  "  I  have  seen 
most  of  this  flourishing  country  a  wilderness ;  my  recollection 
goes  back  into  those  periods  when  the  savage  and  the  beast  ot 
the  forest  contended  with  our  fathers  for  much  of  that  soil  which 
now  supports  its  hundreds  of  thousands  in  plenty ;  and  my  time 
is  to  be  numbered,  not  by  years,  but  by  ages.  For  such  a  being, 
think  you  there  can  yet  be  many  months,  or  weeks,  or  even 
days  in  store  ?" 

Lionel  dropped  his  eyes,  in  embarrassment,  to  the  floor,  as  he 
answered — 

"  You  cannot  have  very  many  years,  surely,  to  hope  for ;  but 
with  the  activity  and  temperance  you  possess,  days  and  months 
confine  you,  I  trust,  in  limits  much  too  small." 

"  What !"  exclaimed  the  other,  stretching  forth  a  colorless 
hand,  in  which  even  the  prominent  veins  partook  in  the  appear- 
ance of  a  general  decay  of  nature ;  "  with  these  wasted  limbs, 
these  gray  hairs,  and  this  sunken  and  sepulchral  cheek,  would 
you  talk  to  me  of  years !  to  me,  who  have  not  the  eff'rontery  to 
petition  for  even  minutes,  were  they  worth  the  prayer^ — so  long 
already  has  been  my  probation  1" 

"  It  is  certainly  time  to  think  of  the  change,  when  it  ap- 
proaches so  very  near." 

"  Well,  then,  Lionel  Lincoln,  old,  feeble,  and  on  the  threshold 
of  eternity  as  I  stand,  yet  am  I  not  nearer  to  my  grave  than 
that  country,  to  which  you  have  pledged  your  blood,  is  to  a 
mighty  convulsion,  which  will  shake  her  institutions  to  their 
foundations." 

"  I  cannot  admit  the  signs  of  the  times  to  be  quite  so  por- 
tentous as  your  fears  would  make  them,"  said  Lionel,  smiling  a 
little  proudly.  "  Though  the  worst  that  is  apprehended  should 
arrive,  England  will  feel  the  shock  but  as  the  earth  bears  an 
eruption  of  one  of  its  volcanoes  !  But  we  talk  in  idle  figures, 
Bir  :  know  you  any  thing  to  justify  the  apprehension  of  imme- 
diate danger  ?" 

The  face  of  the  stranger  lighted  with  a  sudden  and  startling 


88 


LIONEL  LINCOLK. 


gleam  of  intelligence,  and  a  sarcastic  smile  passed  across  his 
wan  features,  as  he  answered  slowly — 

"  They  only  have  cause  to  fear,  who  will  be  the  losers  by  the 
change  !  A  youth  who  casts  oif  the  trammels  of  his  guardians 
is  not  apt  to  doubt  his  ability  to  govern  himself.  England  has 
held  these  colonies  so  long  in  leading-strings,  that  she  forgets 
her  offspring  is  able  to  go  alone." 

"  Now,  sir,  you  exceed  even  the  wild  projects  of  the  most 
daring  among  those  who  call  themselves  the  'Sons  of  Liberty' — 
as  if  liberty  existed  in  any  place  more  favored  or  more  nurtured 
than  under  the  blessed  Constitution  of  England  !  The  utmost 
required  is  what  they  term  a  redress  of  grievances,  many  of 
which,  I  must  think,  exist  only  in  imagination." 

"  Was  a  stone  ever  known  to  roll  upward  ?  Let  there  be 
but  one  drop  of  American  blood  spilt  in  anger,  and  its  stain 
will  become  indelible." 

"  Unhappily,  the  experiment  has  been  already  tried  ;  and  yet 
years  have  rolled  by,  while  England  keeps  her  footing  and  au- 
thority good." 

"  Her  authority  !"  repeated  the  old  man :  "  see  you  not, 
Major  Lincoln,  in  the  forbearance  of  this  people,  when  they  felt 
themselves  in  the  wrong,  the  existence  of  the  very  principles 
that  will  render  them  invincible  and  unyielding  when  right  ? 
But  we  waste  our  time — I  came  to  conduct  you  to  a  place 
where,  with  your  own  ears,  and  with  your  own  eyes,  you  may 
hear  and  see  a  little  of  that  spirit  which  pervades  the  land. 
You  will  follow  ?" 

"  Not,  surely,  in  such  a  tempest !" 

"  This  tempest  is  but  a  trifle  to  that  which  is  about  to  break 
upon  you,  unless  you  retrace  your  steps  ;  but  follow,  I  repeat : 
if  a  man  of  my  years  disregards  the  night,  ou  trht  an  English  sol- 
dier to  hesitate  ?" 

The  pride  of  Lionel  was  touched ;  and  remembering  an  en- 
gagement he  had  previously  made  with  his  aged  friend  to  ac- 
company him  to  a  scene  like  this,  he  made  such  changes  in  hia 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


89 


drcjss  as  would  serve  to  conceal  his  profession,  threw  on  a  large 
cloak  to  protect  his  person,  and  was  about  to  lead  the  way  him 
Belf,  when  he  was  aroused  by  the  voice  of  the  other. 

"  You  mistake  the  route,"  he  said  :  "  this  is  to  be  a  secret, 
and  I  hope  a.  profitable  visit — none  must  know  of  your  pres- 
snce ;  and  if  you  are  a  worthy  son  of  your  honorable  father, 
I  need  hardly  add  that  my  faith  is  pledged  for  your  discre- 
tion." 

"  The  pledge  will  be  respected,  sir,"  said  Lionel,  haughtily  ; 
"  but  in  order  to  see  what  you  wish,  we  are  not  to  remain 
here  ?" 

"  Follow,  then,  and  be  silent,"  said  the  old  man,  turning  and 
opening  the  doors  which  led  into  a  little  apartment  lighted  by 
one  of  those  smaller  windows  already  mentioned  in  describing 
the  exterior  of  the  building.  The  passage  was  dark  and  nar- 
row ;  but,  observing  the  warnings  of  his  companion,  Lionel 
succeeded  in  descending,  in  safety,  a  flight  of  steps  which 
formed  a  private  communication  between  the  offices  of  the 
dwelling  and  its  upper  apartments.  They  paused  an  instant  at 
the  bottom  of  the  stairs,  where  the  youth  expressed  his  amaze- 
ment that  a  stranger  should  be  so  much  more  familiar  with 
the  building  than  he  who  had  for  so  many  days  made  it  his 
home. 

"  Have  I  not  often  told  you,"  returned  the  old  man,  with  a 
severity  in  his  voice  which  was  even  apparent  in  its  suppressed 
tones,  "  that  I  have  known  Boston  for  near  a  hundred  years  ? 
How  many  edifices  like  this  does  it  contain,  that  I  should  not 
have  noted  its  erection !  But  follow  in  silence,  and  be  pru- 
dent." 

He  now  opened  a  door  which  conducted  them  through  one 
end  of  the  building,  into  the  court-yard  in  which  it  was  situ- 
ated. As  they  emerged  into  the  open  air,  Lionel  perceived  the 
figure  of  a  man,  crouching  under  the  walls,  as  if  seeking  a  shelter 
from  the  driving  rain.  The  moment  they  appeared,  this  persoi; 
arose,  and  followed  as  they  moved  towards  the  street. 


90 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Are  we  not  watched  said  Lionel,  stopping  to  face  the 
unknown.    "  Whom  have  we  skulking  in  our  footsteps  ?" 

"  'Tis  the  boy  "  said  the  old  man — for  whom  we  must  adopt 
the  name  of  Ralph,  which  it  would  appear  was  the  usual  term 
used  by  Job  when  addressing  his  mother's  guest — "'tis  the  boy, 
and  he  can  do  us  no  harm.  God  has  granted  to  him  a  knowl- 
edge between  much  of  what  is  good  and  that  which  is  evil, 
though  the  mind  of  the  child  is,  at  times,  sadly  weakened  by 
his  bodily  ailings.  His  heart,  however,  is  with  his  countiy,  at 
a  moment  when  she  needs  all  hearts  to  maintain  her  rights." 

The  young  British  officer  bowed  his  head  to  meet  the  tem- 
pest, and  smiled  scornfully  within  the  folds  of  his  cloak,  which 
he  drew  more  closely  around  his  form,  as  they  met  the  gale  in 
the  open  streets  of  the  town.  They  had  passed  swiftly  through 
many  narrow  and  crooked  ways,  before  another  word  was  ut- 
tered between  the  adventurers.  Lionel  mused  on  the  singular 
and  indefinable  interest  that  he  took  in  the  movements  of  his 
companion,  which  could  draw  him  at  a  time  like  this  from  the 
shelter  of  Mrs.  Lechmere's  roof,  to  wander  he  knew  not  whither, 
and  on  an  errand  which  might  even  be  dangerous  to  his  per- 
son. Still  he  followed,  unhesitatingly ;  for  with  these  passing 
thoughts  were  blended  the  recollection  of  the  many  recent  and 
interesting  communications  he  had  held  with  the  old  man  dur- 
ing their  long  and  close  association  in  the  ship ;  nor  was  he 
wanting  in  a  natural  interest  for  all  that  involved  the  safety 
and  happiness  of  the  place  of  his  birth.  He  kept  the  form  oi 
his  aged  guide  in  his  eye,  as  the  other  moved  before  him,  care- 
less of  the.  tempest  which  beat  on  his  withered  frame,  and  he 
heard  the  heavy  footsteps  of  Job  in  his  rear,  who  had  closed  so 
near  his  own  person  as  to  share,  in  some  measure,  in  the  shelter 
of  his  ample  cloak.  But  no  other  hving  being  seemed  to  have 
ventured  abroad ;  and  even  the  few  sentinels  they  passed,  in- 
stead of  pacing  in  front  of  those  doors  which  it  was  their  duty 
to  guard,  were  concealed  behind  the  angles  of  walls,  or  sought 
shelter  under  the  projections  of  some  favoring  roof.    At  mo* 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


91 


ments  the  wind  rushed  into  the  narrow  avenues  of  the  streets, 
along  which  it  swept,  with  a  noise  not  unlike  the  hollow  roar- 
ing of  the  sea,  and  with  a  violence  which  was  nearly  irresisti' 
ble.  At  such  times,  Lionel  was  compelled  to  pause,  and  even 
frequently  to  recede  a  little  from  his  path,  while  his  guide,  sup- 
ported by  his  high  purpose,  and  but  little  obstructed  by  his  gar- 
ments, seemed,  to  the  bewildered  imagination  of  his  follower, 
to  glide  through  the  night  with  a  facility  that  was  supernatural. 
At  length  the  old  man,  who  had  got  some  distance  ahead  of  his 
followers,  suddenly  paused,  and  allowed  Lionel  to  approach  to 
his  side.  The  latter  observed,  with  surprise,  that  he  had  stop- 
ped before  the  root  and  stump  of  a  tree,  which  had  once  grown 
on  the  borders  of  a  street,  and  which  appeared  to  have  been  re- 
cently felled. 

"  Do  you  see  this  remnant  of  the  Elm  ?"  said  Kalph,  when  the 
others  had  stopped  also.  "  Their  axes  have  succeeded  in  de- 
stroying the  mother  plant,  but  her  scions  are  flourishing  through- 
out a  continent!'' 

"  I  do  not  comprehend  you,"  returned  Lionel ;  "  I  see  here 
nothing  but  the  stump  of  some  tree ;  surely  the  ministers  of  the 
king  are  not  answerable  that  it  stands  no  longer !" 

"  The  ministers  of  the  king  are  answerable  to  their  master, 
that  it  has  ever  become  what  it  is :  but  speak  to  the  boy  at 
your  side  ;  he  will  tell  you  of  its  virtues." 

Lionel  turned  towards  Job,  and  perceived,  by  the  obscure 
light  of  the  moon,  to  his  surprise,  that  the  changeling  stood  with 
his  head  bared  to  the  storm,  regarding  the  root  with  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  of  reverence. 

"  This  is  all  a  mystery  to  me,"  he  said ;  "  what  do  you  know 
about  this  stump  to  stand  in  awe  of,  boy  ?" 

"'Tis  the  root  of  *  Liberty-tree,' "  said  Job,  "and  'tis  wicked 
to  pass  it  without  making  your  manners !" 

"  And  what  has  this  tree  done  for  liberty,  that  it  has  merited 
so  much  respect  ?" 

"  What !  why,  did  you  ever  see  a  tree  afore  this  that  could 


92 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


write  and  give  notices  of  town-meetin'-da's,  or  that  could  tell 
tlie  people  what  the  king  meant  to  do  with  the  tea  and  his 
Btamps !" 

"  And  could  this  marvellous  tree  work  such  miracles 
"  To  be  sure  it  could,  and  it  did,  too.  You  let  stingy  Tommy 
think  to  get  above  the  people  with  any  of  his  cunning  over 
night,  and  you  might  come  here  next  morning,  and  read  a 
warning  on  the  bark  of  this  tree,  that  would  tell  all  about  it, 
and  how  to  put  down  his  deviltries,  written  out  fair,  in  a  hand 
as  good  as  Master  Lovell  himself  could  put  on  paper,  the  best 
day  of  his  grand  scholarship." 
"  And  who  put  the  paper  there  ?" 

"  Who  !"  exclaimed  Job,  a  little  positively ;  "  why.  Liberty 
came  in  the  night,  and  pasted  it  up  herself.  "When  Nab 
couldn't  get  a  house  to  live  in.  Job  used  to  sleep  under  the  tree, 
sometimes ;  and  many  a  night  has  he  seen  Liberty  with  his  own 
eyes  come  and  put  up  the  paper." 

"  And  was  it  a  w^oman  ?" 

"  Do  you  think  Liberty  was  such  a  fool  as  to  come  every 
time  in  woman's  clothes,  to  be  followed  by  the  rake-helly  sol- 
diers about  the  streets  ?"  said  Job,  with  great  contempt  in  his 
manner.  "Sometimes  she  did,  though,  and  sometimes  she 
didn't,  just  as  it  happened.  And  Job  was  in  the  tree  when  old 
Noll  had  to  give  up  his  ungodly  stamps ;  though  he  didn't  do  it 
till  the  *  Sons  of  Liberty'  had  chucked  his  stamp-shop  in  the 
dock,  and  hung  him  and  Lord  Boot  together,  on  the  branches  of 
the  old  Elm !" 

"  Hung !"  said  Lionel,  unconsciously  drawing  back  from  the 
spot ;  "  was  it  ever  a  gallows  ?" 

"  Yes,  for  iffigies,"  said  Job,  laughing ;  "  I  wish  you  could 
have  been  here  to  see  how  the  old  boot,  with  Satan  sticking  out 
on't,  whirled  about  when  they  swung  it  off !  They  give  the  old 
boy  a  big  shoe  to  put  his  cloven  huff  in !" 

Lionel,  who  was  familiar  with  the  peculiar  sound  that  his 
townsmen  gave  to  flie  letter  ^^,  now  comprehended  the  allusion 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


93 


to  the  Earl  of  Bute,  and,  beginning  to  understand  more  clearly 
the  nature  of  the  transactions  and  the  uses  to  which  that  mem- 
orable tree  had  been  applied,  he  expressed  his  desire  to  pro- 
ceed. 

The  old  man  had  suffered  Job  to  make  his  own  explanations, 
though  not  without  a  curious  interest  in  the  effect  they  would 
produce  on  Lionel ;  but  the  instant  the  request  was  made  to 
advance,  he  turned,  and  once  more  led  the  way.  Their  course 
w^as  now  directed  more  towards  the  wharves ;  nor  was  it  long 
before  their  conductor  turned  into  a  narrow  court,  and  entered 
a  house  of  rather  mean  appearance,  without  even  observing  the 
formality  of  announcing  his  visit  by  the  ordinary  summons  of 
rapping  at  its  door.  A  long,  narrow,  and  dimly-lighted  passage 
conducted  them  to  a  spacious  apartment  far  in  the  court,  which 
appeared  to  have  been  fitted  as  a  place  for  the  reception  of 
large  assemblages  of  people.  In  this  room  w^ere  collected  at 
least  a  hundred  men,  seemingly  intent  on  some  object  of  more 
than  usual  interest,  by  the  gravity  and  seriousness  of  demeanor 
apparent  in  every  countenance. 

As  it  was  Sunday,  the  first  impression  of  Lionel,  on  entering 
the  room,  was,  that  his  old  friend,  w^ho  often  betrayed  a  keen 
sensibility  on  subjects  of  religion,  had  brought  him  there  with  a 
design  to  listen  to  some  favorite  exhorter  of  his  own  peculiar 
tenets,  and  as  a  tacit  reproach  for  a  neglect  of  the  usual  ordi- 
nances of  that  holy  day,  of  which  the  conscience  of  the  young 
man  suddenly  accused  him,  on  finding  himself  unexpectedly 
mingled  in  such  a  throng.  But  after  he  had  forced  his  person 
among  a  dense  body  of  men,  who  stood  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
apartment,  and  became  a  silent  observer  of  the  scene,  he  was 
soon  made  to  perceive  his  error.  The  weather  had  induced  all 
present  to  appear  in  such  garments  as  were  best  adapted  to  pro- 
tect them  from  its  fury ;  and  their  exteriors  were  rough,  and 
perhaps  a  little  forbidding ;  but  there  was  a  composure  and  de- 
cency in  the  air  commion  to  the  whole  assembly,  which  denoted 
that  they  were  men  who  possessed,  in  a  high  degree,  the  com- 


94 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


mandicg  quality  of  self-respect.  A  very  few  minutes  sufficed  to 
ieacli  Lionel  that  he  was  in  the  midst  of  a  meetins:  collected  to 
discuss  questions  connected  with  the  political  movements  of  the 
times,  though  he  felt  himself  a  little  at  a  loss  to  discover  the 
precise  results  it  was  intended  to  produce.  To  every  question 
there  were  one  or  two  speakers, — men  who  expressed  their  ideas 
in  a  familiar  manner,  and  wdth  the  peculiar  tones  and  pronun- 
ciation of  the  province,  that  left  no  room  to  believe  them  to  be 
orators  of  a  higher  character  than  the  mechanics  and  tradesmen 
of  the  town.  Most,  if  not  all  of  them,  wore  an  air  of  delibera- 
tion and  coldness,  that  would  have  rendered  their  sincerity  in 
the  cause  they  had  apparently  espoused  a  little  equivocal,  but 
for  occasional  expressions  of  coarse,  and  sometimes  biting  in- 
vective, that  they  expended  on  the  ministers  of  the  crown,  and 
for  the  perfect  and  firm  unanimity  that  was  manifested,  as  each 
expression  of  the  common  feeling  was  taken,  after  the  manner 
of  deliberative  bodies.  Certain  resolutions,  in  which  the  most 
respectful  remonstrances  were  singularly  blended  with  the  bold- 
est assertions  of  constitutional  principles,  were  read,  and  passed 
without  a  dissenting  voice,  though  with  a  calmness  that  indi- 
cated no  very  strong  excitement.  Lionel  was  peculiarly  struck 
with  the  language  of  these  written  opinions,  which  were  ex- 
pressed with  a  purity,  and  sometimes  with  an  elegance  of  style, 
which  plainly  showed  that  the  acquaintance  of  the  sober  artisan 
with  the  instrument  through  whose  periods  he  was  blundering, 
was  quite  recent,  and  far  from  being  very  intimate.  The  eyes 
of  the  young  soldier  wandered  from  face  to  face  with  a  strong 
desire  to  detect  the  secret  movers  of  the  scene  he  was  witness- 
ing ;  nor  was  he  long  without  selecting  one  individual  as  an 
object  peculiarly  deserving  of  his  suspicions.  It  w^as  a  man 
apparently  but  just  entering  into  middle  age,  of  an  appearance, 
both  in  person  and  in  such  parts  of  his  dress  as  escaped  from 
beneath  his  overcoat,  that  denoted  him  to  be  of  a  class  alto- . 
gether  superior  to  the  mass  of  the  assembly.  A  deep  but  manly 
respect  was  evidently  paid  to  this  gentleman  by  those  who  stood 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


95. 


nearest  to  his  person ;  and  once  or  twice  there  were  close  and 
earnest  communications  passing  between  him  and  the  niore 
ostensible  leaders  of  the  meeting,  which  roused  the  suspicions  of 
Lionel  in  the  manner  related.  Notwithstanding  the  secret  dis- 
like that  the  English  officer  suddenly  conceived  against  a  man 
that  he  fancied  was  thus  abusing  his  powers,  by  urging  others 
to  acts  of  insubordination,  he  could  not  conceal  from  himself  the 
favorable  impression  made  by  the  open,  fearless,  and  engaging 
countenance  of  the  stranger.  Lionel  was  so  situated  as  to  be 
able  to  keep  his  person,  which  was  partly  concealed  by  the  taller 
forms  that  surrounded  him,  in  constant  view ;  nor  was  it  long 
before  his  earnest  and  curious  gaze  caught  the  attention  of  the 
other.  Glances  of  marked  meaning  w^ere  exchanged  between 
them  during  the  remainder  of  the  evening,  until  the  chairman 
announced  that  the  objects  of  the  convocation  were  accom- 
phshed,  and  dissolved  the  meeting. 

Lionel  raised  himself  from  his  reclining  attitude  against  the 
wall,  and  submitted  to  be  carried  by  the  current  of  human 
bodies  into  the  dark  passage,  through  which  he  had  entered  the 
room.  Here  he  Hngered  a  moment,  with  a  view  to  recover  his 
lost  companion,  and  with  a  secret  wish  to  scan  more  narrowly 
the  proceedings  of  the  man  whose  air  and  manner  had  so  long 
chained  his  attention.  The  crowd  had  sensibly  diminished  be- 
fore he  was  aware  that  few  remained  besides  himself,  nor  would 
he  then  have  discovered  that  he  was  likely  to  become  an  object 
of  suspicion  to  those  few,  had  not  a  voice  at  his  elbow  recalled 
his  recollection. 

"  Does  Major  Lincoln  meet  his  countrymen  to-night  as  one 
who  sympathizes  in  their  wrongs,  or  as  the  favored  and  pros- 
perous officer  of  the  crown  ?"  asked  the  very  man  for  whose 
person  he  had  so  long  been  looking  in  vain. 

"  Is  sympathy  with  the  oppressed  incompatible  with  loyalty 
to  my  prince  ?"  demanded  Lionel. 

**That  it  is  not,"  said  the  stranger,  in  a  friendly  accent,  "is 
apparent  from  the  conduct  of  many  gallant  Englishmen  among 


96 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


US,  who  espouse  our  cause — but  we  claim  Major  Lincoln  as  a 
countryman." 

"  Perhaps,  sir,  it  would  be  indiscreet  just  now  to  disavow  that 
title,  let  my  dispositions  be  as  they  may,"  returned  Lionel,  smil- 
ing a  little  haughtily ;  "  this  may  not  be  as  secure  a  spot  in 
which  to  avow  one's  sentiments,  as  the  town  common,  or  the 
palace  of  St.  James." 

"  Had  the  king  been  present  to-night.  Major  Lincoln,  would 
he  have  heard  a  single  sentence  opposed  to  that  constitution, 
which  has  declared  him  a  member  too  sacred  to  be  offended  ?" 

"  Whatever  may  have  been  the  legality  of  your  sentiments, 
sir,  they  surely  have  not  been  expressed  in  language  altogether 
fit  for  a  royal  ear." 

"  It  may  not  have  been  adulation,  or  even  flattery,  but  it  is 
truth — a  quality  no  less  sacred  than  the  rights  of  kings." 

"  This  is  neither  a  place  nor  an  occasion,  sir,"  said  the  young 
soldier,  quickly,  "  to  discuss  the  rights  of  our  common  master ; 
but  if,  as  from  your  manner  and  your  language  I  think  not  im- 
probable, we  should  meet  hereafter  in  a  higher  sphere,  you  will 
not  find  me  at  a  loss  to  vindicate  his  claims." 

The  stranger  smiled  with  meaning,  and  as  he  bowed  before  he 
fell  back  and  was  lost  in  the  darkness  of  the  passage,  he  replied — 

"  Our  fathers  have  often  met  in  such  society,  I  believe ;  God 
forbid  that  their  sons  should  ever  encounter  in  a  less  friendly 
manner." 

Lionel,  now  finding  himself  alone,  groped  his  way  into  the 
street,  where  he  perceived  Ralph  and  the  changeling  in  waiting 
for  his  appearance.  Without  demanding  the  cause  of  the  oth- 
er's delay,  the  old  man  proceeded  by  the  side  of  his  companions, 
with  the  same  indifference  to  the  tempest  as  before,  towards  the 
residence  of  Mrs.  Lechmere. 

"  You  have  now  had  some  evidence  of  the  spirit  that  per- 
vades this  people,"  said  Ralph,  after  a  few  moments  of  silence ; 
"  think  you  still  there  is  no  danger  that  the  volcano  will  ex- 
plode ?" 


L'^ONKL  LINCOLN. 


97 


"  Surely  every  thing  I  have  heard  and  seen  to-night  confirms 
such  an  opinion,"  returned  Lionel.  "  Men  on  the  threshold  of 
rebellion  seldom  reason  so  closely,  and  with  such  moderation. 
Why,  the  very  fuel  for  the  combustion,  the  rabble  themselves, 
discuss  their  constitutional  principles,  and  keep  under  the  mantle 
of  law,  as  though  they  were  a  club  of  learned  Templars." 

"  Think  you  that  the  fire  will  burn  less  steadily,  because  what 
you  call  the  fuel  has  been  prepared  by  the  seasoning  of  time 
returned  Ralph.    "  But  this  comes  from  sending  a  j^outh  into 
a  foreign  land  for  his  education  !    The  boy  rates  his  sober  and 
earnest  countrymen  on  a  level  with  the  peasants  of  Europe." 

So  much  Lionel  was  able  to  comprehend ;  but  notwithstanding 
the  old  man  muttered  vehemently  to  himself  for  some  time 
longer,  it  was  in  a  tone  too  indistinct  for  his  ear  to  understand 
his  meaning.  When  they  arrived  in  a  part  of  the  town  with 
which  Lionel  was  familiar,  his  aged  guide  pointed  out  his  way, 
and  took  his  leave,  saying — 

"  I  see  that  nothing  but  the  last,  and  dreadful  argument  of 
force,  will  convince  you  of  the  purpose  of  the  Americans  to 
resist  their  oppressors.  God  avert  the  evil  hour  !  but  when  it 
shall  come,  as  come  it  must,  you  will  learn  your  error,  young 
man,  and,  I  trust,  will  not  disregard  the  natural  ties  of  country 
and  kindred." 

Lionel  would  have  spoken  in  reply,  but  the  rapid  steps  of 
Ralph  rendered  his  wishes  vain ;  for,  before  he  had  time  for 
utterance,  his  emaciated  form  was  seen  gliding,  like  an  imma- 
terial being,  through  the  sheets  of  driving  rain,  and  was  soon 
lost  to  the  eye,  as  it  vanished  in  the  dim  shades  of  night,  fol- 
lowed by  the  moro  substantial  frame  of  the  idiot. 

6 


98 


LIONEL  LINCOLH. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

**  Sergeant,  you  shall.   Thus  are  poor  servitors, 

When  others  sleep  upon  their  quiet  beds, 
Constrained  to  watch  in  darkness,  rain,  and  colvl" 

King  Henry  VI. 

Two  or  three  days  of  fine,  balmy,  spring  weather  succeeded 
to  the  storm,  dming  which  Lionel  saw  no  more  of  his  aged 
fellow-voyager.  Job,  however,  attached  himself  to  the  British 
soldier  with  a  confiding  helplessness  that  touched  the  heart  of 
his  young  protector,  who  gathered  from  the  circumstance  a  just 
opinion  of  the  nature  of  the  abuses  that  the  unfortunate  change 
ling  was  frequently  compelled  to  endure  from  the  brutal  soldiery. 
Meriton  performed  the  functions  of  master  of  the  wardrobe  to  the 
lad,  by  Lionel's  express  commands,  with  evident  disgust,  but  with 
manifest  advantage  to  the  external  appearance,  if  with  no  very 
sensible  evidence  of  having  added  to  the  comfort  of  his  charge. 
During  this  short  period,  the  slight  impression  made  on  Lionel  by 
the  scene  related  in  the  preceding  chapter,  faded  before  the 
cheerful  changes  of  the  season,  and  the  increasing  interest 
which  he  felt  in  the  society  of  his  youthful  kinswomen.  Pol- 
warth  relieved  him  from  all  cares  of  a  domestic  nature,  and  the 
peculiar  shade  of  sadness,  which  at  times  had  been  so  very  per- 
ceptible in  his  countenance,  was  changed  to  a  look  of  a  more 
brightening  and  cheerful  character.  Polwarth  and  Lionel  had 
found  an  officer,  who  had  formerly  served  in  the  same  regiment 
with  them  in  the  British  Islands,  in  command  of  a  company  of 
grenadiers,  which  formed  part  of  the  garrison  of  Boston.  This 
gentleman,  an  Irishman,  of  the  name  of  M'Fuse,  was  qualified 
to  do  great  honor  to  the  culinary  skill  of  the  officer  of  light 
infantry,  by  virtue  of  a  keen  natural  gusto  for  whatever  pos- 
sessed the  inherent  properties  of  a  savory  taste,  though  utterly 


LIONEL  LINCOLlsr. 


99 


destitute  of  any  of  that  remarkable  scientific  knowledge  whicLi 
might  be  said  to  distinguish  the  other  in  the  art.  He  was,  in 
consequence  of  this  double  claim  on  the  notice  of  Lionel,  a 
frequent  guest  at  the  nightly  banquets  prepared  by  Polwarth. 
Accordingly,  we  find  him,  on  the  evening  of  the  third  day  in 
the  week,  seated  with  his  two  friends  around  a  board  plentifully 
garnished  by  the  care  of  that  gentleman,  on  the  preparations 
for  which  more  than  usual  skill  had  been  exerted,  if  the  repeated 
declarations  of  the  disciple  of  Heliogabalus,  to  that  eflfect,  were 
entitled  to  ordinary  credit. 

"  In  short,  Major  Lincoln,"  said  Polwarth,  in  continuance  of  his 
favorite  theme,  while  seated  before  the  table,  "  a  man  may  live 
anywhere,  provided  he  possesses  food — in  England,  or  out  of 
England,  it  matters  not.  Raiment  may  be  necessary  to  appear- 
ance, but  food  is  the  only  indispensable  that  nature  has  imposed 
on  the  animal  world ;  and,  in  my  opinion,  here  is  a  sort  of  obli- 
gation on  every  man  to  be  satisfied,  who  has  wherewithal  to 
appease  the  cravings  of  his  appetite.  Captain  M'Fuse,  I  will 
thank  you  to  cut  that  sirloin  with  the  grain." 

"  What  matters  it,  Polly,"  said  the  captain  of  grenadiers,  with 
a  slight  Irish  accent,  and  with  the  humor  of  his  countrymen 
strongly  depicted  in  his  fine,  open,  manly  features,  "  which  way 
a  bit  of  meat  is  divided,  so  there  be  enough  to  allay  the  cravings 
of  the  appetite  ?" 

"  It  is  a  collateral  assistance  to  nature  that  should  never  be 
neglected,"  returned  Polwarth,  whose  gravity  and  seriousness 
at  his  banquets  were  not  easily  disturbed  :  "  it  facilitates  masti- 
cation and  aids  digestion,  two  considerations  of  great  import- 
ance to  military  men,  sir,  who  have  frequently  such  little  time 
for  the  former,  and  no  rest  after  their  meals  to  complete  the 
latter." 

"  He  reasons  like  an  army  contractor,  who  wishes  to  make 
one  ration  do  the  work  of  two,  when  transportation  is  high," 
said  M'Fuse,  winking  to  Lionel.  "  According  to  your  prioci- 
ples,  then,  Polly,  ji  potato  is  your  true  campaigner,  for  that  is  a 


100 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


cr'ature  you  may  cut  any  way  without  disturbing  the  grain,  pro- 
vided tlie  article  be  a  little  m'aly." 

"  Pardon  me,  Captain  M'Fuse,"  said  Polwarth :  "  a  potato 
Bliould  be  broken,  and  not  cut  at  all — there  is  no  vegetable 
more  used,  and  less  understood,  than  the  potato.'^ 

"  And  is  it  you,  Pater  Polwarth,  of  Nesbitt's  light  infantry," 
mterrupted  the  grenadier,  laying  down  his  knife  and  fork  with 
an  air  of  infinite  humor,  "  that  will  tell  Dennis  MTuse  how  to 
carve  a  potato  !  I  will  yield  to  the  right  of  an  Englishman 
over  the  chivalry  of  an  ox,  your  sirloins,  and  your  lady-rumps, 
if  you  please  ;  but  in  my  own  country,  one  end  of  every  farm 
is  a  bog,  and  the  other  a  potato-field — 'tis  an  Irishman's  patri- 
mony that  you  are  making  so  free  with,  sir  !" 

"  The  possession  of  a  thing,  and  the  knowledge  how  to  use 
it,  are  two  very  different  properties — ^" 

"  Give  me  the  property  of  possession,  then,"  again  interrupt- 
ed the  ardent  grenadier,  "  especially  when  a  morsel  of  the 
green  island  is  in  dispute ;  and  trust  an  old  soldier  of  the  Royal 
Irish  to  carve  his  own  enjoyments.  Now,  I'll  wager  a  month's 
pay — and  that  to  me  is  as  much  as  if  the  major  should  say,  'Done 
for  a  thousand' — that  you  can't  tell  how  many  dishes  can  be 
made,  and  are  made  every  day  in  Ireland,  out  of  so  simple  a 
thing  as  a  potato." 

"  You  roast  and  boil ;  and  use  them  in  stuffing  tame  birds, 
sometimes,  and — " 

"  All  old  woman's  cookery  !"  interrupted  M'Fuse,  with  an  af- 
fectation of  great  contempt  in  his  manner.  "  Now,  sir,  we 
have  them  with  butter,  and  without  butter — that  counts  two  ; 
then  we  have  the  fruit  p'aled  ;  and — " 

"  Impaled,"  said  Lionel,  laughing.  "  I  beheve  this  nice  con- 
troversy must  be  referred  to  Job,  who  is  amusing  himself  in  the 
corner  there,  I  see,  with  the  very  subject  of  the  dispute  trans- 
fixed on  his  fork  in  the  latter  condition." 

"  Or  suppose,  rather,"  said  M'Fuse,  "  as  it  is  a  matter  to  ex- 
ercise the  judgment  of  Solomon,  we  make  a  potato  umpire  o^ 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


101 


Master  Setli  Sage,  yonder,  who  should  have  some  of  the  wisdom 
of  the  royal  Jew,  by  the  sagacity  of  his  countenance  as  well  as 
of  his  name." 

"  Don't  you  call  Seth  r'yal,"  said  Job,  suspending  his  occu- 
pation on  the  vegetable.  "  The  king  is  r'yal  and  fla'nty,  but 
neighbor  Sage  lets  Job  come  in  and  eat,  like  a  Christian." 

"That  lad  there  is  not  altogether  without  reason.  Major  Lin- 
coln," said  Polwarth ;  "  on  the  contrary,  he  discovers  an  in- 
stinctive knowledge  of  good  from  evil,  by  favoring  us  with  his 
company  at  the  hour  of  meals." 

"  The  poor  fellow  finds  but  little  at  home  to  tempt  him  to  re- 
main there,  I  fear,"  said  Lionel ;  "  and  as  he  was  one  of  the 
first  acquaintances  I  made  on  returning  to  my  native  land,  I 
have  desired  Mr.  Sage  to  admit  him  at  all  proper  hours  ;  and 
especially,  Polwarth,  at  those  times  when  he  can  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  homage  to  your  skill." 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  him,"  said  Polwarth  ;  "  for  I  love  an  un- 
ifistructed  palate,  as  much  as  I  admire  naivete  in  a  woman.  Be 
so  good  as  to  favor  me  with  a  cut  from  the  breast  of  that  wild- 
goose,  M'Fuse — not  quite  so  far  forward,  if  you  please ;  your 
migratory  birds  are  apt  to  be  tough  about  the  wing — but  sim 
plicity  in  eating  is,  after  all,  the  great  secret  of  life  ;  that  and 
a  sufficiency  of  food." 

"  You  may  be  right  this  time,"  replied  the  grenadier,  laugh- 
ing ;  "  for  this  fellow  made  one  of  the  flankers  of  the  flock,  and 
did  double  duty  in  wheeling,  I  believe,  or  I  have  got  him  against 
the  grain  too  !  But,  Polly,  you  have  not  told  us  how  you  im- 
prove in  your  light-infantry  exercises  of  late." 

By  this  time,  Polwarth  had  made  such  progress  in  the  essen- 
tial part  of  his  meal,  as  to  have  recovered  in  some  measure 
his  usual  tone  of  good-nature,  and  he  answered  with  less 
gravity — 

"  If  Gage  does  not  work  a  reformation  in  our  habits,  he  will 
fag  us  all  to  death.  I  suppose  you  know,  Leo,  tnat  all  the 
flank  companies  are  relieved  from  the  guards  to  learn  a  nev/ 


102 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


Bpecies  of  exercise.  They  call  it  relieving  us,  but  the  only  re» 
lief  I  find  in  the  matter  is  when  we  lie  down  to  fire — there  is  a 
luxurious  moment  or  two  then,  I  must  confess." 

"  1  have  known  the  fact,  any  time  these  ten  days,  by  your 
moanings,"  returned  Lionel.  "  But  what  do  you  argue  from 
this  particular  exercise,  Captain  M'Fuse  ?  Does  Gage  contem- 
plate more  than  the  customary  drills  ?" 

You  question  me  now,  sir,  on  a  matter  in  which  I  am  un- 
instructed,"  said  the  grenadier.  "I  am  a  soldier,  and  obey  my 
orders,  without  pretending  to  inquire  into  their  objects  or  mer- 
its :  all  I  know  is,  that  both  grenadiers  and  light  infantry  are 
taken  from  the  guards  ;  and  that  we  travel  over  a  good  deal  of 
solid  earth  each  day,  in  the  way  of  marching  and  counter- 
marching, to  the  manifest  discomfiture  and  reduction  of  Polly, 
there,  who  loses  flesh  as  fast  as  he  gains  ground." 

"  Do  you  think  so,  Mac  ?"  cried  the  delighted  captain  of 
light  infantry.  "  Then  I  have  not  all  the  detestable  motion  in 
vain.  They  have  given  us  little  Harry  Skip  as  a  drill-officer, 
who,  I  believe,  has  the  most  restless  foot  of  any  man  in  his 
majesty's  service.  Do  you  join  with  me  in  opinion,  Master 
Sage  ?  You  seem  to  meditate  on  the  subject  as  if  it  had  some 
secret  charm." 

The  individual  to  whom  Polwarth  addressed  this  question, 
and  who  has  been  already  named,  was  standing  with  a  -plate  in 
his  hand,  in  an  attitude  that  bespoke  close  attention,  with  a 
sudden  and  deep  interest  in  the  discourse,  though  his  eyes  were 
bent  on  the  floor,  and  his  face  was  averted  as  if,  while  listening 
earnestly,  he  had  a  particular  desire  to  be  unnoticed.  He  was 
the  owner  of  the  house  in  which  Lionel  had  taken  his  quarters. 
His  family  had  been  some  time  before  removed  into  the  coun- 
try, under  the  pretence  of  his  inability  to  maintain  them  in  a 
place  destitute  of  business  and  resources,  like  Boston  ;  but  he 
remained  himself,  for  the  double  purpose  of  protecting  his  prop- 
erty and  ser\dng  his  guests.  This  man  partook,  in  no  small 
degree,  of  the  qualities,  both  of  person  and  mind,  which  distin 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


103 


guish  a  large  class  among  his  countrymen.  In  the  former,  he 
was  rather  over  than  under  the  middle  stature ;  was  thin,  angu- 
lar, and  awkward,  but  possessing  an  unusual  proportion  of  sinew 
and  bone.  His  eyes  were  small,  black,  scintillating,  and  it  was 
not  easy  to  fancy  that  the  intelligence  they  manifested  was  un- 
mingled  with  a  large  proportion  of  shrewd  cunning.  The  rcdt 
of  his  countenance  was  meager,  sallow,  and  rigidly  demuie. 
Thus  called  upon,  on  a  sudden,  by  Polwarth  for  an  opinion, 
Seth  answered,  with  the  cautious  reserve  with  which  he  inva- 
riably delivered  himself — 

"  The  adjutant  is  an  uneasy  man  ;  but  that,  I  suppose,  is  so 
much  the  better  for  a  light-infantry  officer.  Captain  Polwarth 
must  find  it  considerable  jading  to  keep  the  step,  now  the  gen- 
eral has  ordered  these  new  doings  with  the  soldiers." 

"  And  what  may  be  your  opinion  of  these  doings,  as  you  call 
them,  Mr.  Sage  asked  M'Fuse.  "  You,  who  are  a  man  of 
observation,  should  understand  your  countrymen ;  will  they 

fight  r 

"  A  rat  will  fight  if  the  cats  pen  him,"  said  Seth,  without 
raising  his  eyes  from  his  occupation. 

"  But  do  the  Americans  conceive  themselves  to  be  penned  f 

"  Why,  that  is  pretty  much  as  people  think,  captain.  The 
country  was  in  a  great  touse  about  the  stamps  and  the  tea,  but 
I  always  said  such  folks  as  didn't  give  their  notes-of-hand,  and 
had  no  great  relish  for  any  thing  more  than  country  food, 
wouldn't  find  themselves  cramped  by  the  laws,  after  all." 

"  Then  you  see  no  great  oppression  in  being  asked  to  pay 
youi  bit  of  a  tax.  Master  Sage,"  cried  the  grenadier,  "  to  main- 
tain such  a  worthy  fellow  as  myself  in  a  dacent  equipage  to 
fight  your  battles  V 

"  Why,  as  to  that,  captain,  I  suppose  we  can  do  pretty  much 
the  w^hole  of  our  own  fighting,  when  occasion  calls ;  though  I  don't 
thmk  there  is  much  stomach  for  such  doings  among  the  people, 
without  need." 

^  But  what  do  you  think  the  *  Committee  of  Safety,'  and 


104 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


your  *  Sons  of  Liberty,'  as  they  call  themselves,  really  mean,  by 
their  parades  of  '  minute-men,'  their  gathering  of  provisions, 
carrying  off  the  cannon,  and  such  other  formidable  and  ap- 
palling preparations — ha  !  honest  Seth  ?  Do  they  think  to 
frighten  British  soldiers  with  the  roll  of  a  drum,  or  are  they 
amusing  themselves,  like  boys  in  the  holidays,  with  playing 
war  ?" 

"  I  should  conclude,"  said  Seth,  with  undisturbed  gravity 
and  caution,  "  that  the  people  are  pretty  much  engaged,  and  in 
earnest." 

"  To  do  w^hat  ?"  demanded  the  Irishman.  "  To  forge  their 
own  chains,  that  we  may  fetter  them  in  truth 

"  Why,  seeing  that  they  have  burnt  the  stamps,  and  thrown 
the  tea  into  the  harbor,"  returned  Seth,  "  and,  since  that,  have 
taken  the  management  into  their  own  hands,  I  should  rather 
conclude  that  they  have  pretty  much  determined  to  do  what 
they  think  best." 

Lionel  and  Polwarth  laughed  aloud,  and  the  former  observed— 

"  You  appear  not  to  come  to  conclusions  with  our  host.  Cap- 
tain M'Fuse,  notwithstanding  so  much  is  determined.  Is  it  well 
understood,  Mr.  Sage,  that  large  reinforcements  are  coming  to 
the  colonies,  and  to  Boston  in  particular  ?" 

"  Why,  yes,"  returned  Seth ;  "  it  seems  to  be  pretty  generally 
contemplated  on." 

"  And  what  is  the  result  of  these  contemplations  ?" 

Seth  paused  a  moment,  as  if  uncertain  whether  he  was  master 
of  the  other's  meaning,  before  he  replied — 

"  Why,  as  the  country  is  considerably  engaged  in  the  busi- 
ness, there  are  some  who  think,  if  the  ministers  don't  open  the 
port,  that  it  will  be  done  without  much  further  words  by  the 
people." 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Lionel,  gravely,  "  that  such  an  attempt 
would  lead  directly  to  a  civil  war  ?" 

"I  suppose  it  is  safe  to  calculate  that  such  doings  would  bring 
on  disturbances,"  retm'ned  his  phlegmatic  host. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


106 


"  And  you  speak  of  it,  sir,  as  a  thing  not  to  be  deprecated, 
or  averted  by  every  possible  means  in  the  power  of  the  na- 
tion !" 

"  If  the  port  is  opened,  and  the  right  to  tax  given  up,"  said 
Seth,  calmly,  "  I  can  find  a  man  in  Boston  who'll  engage  to  let 
them  draw  all  the  blood  that  will  be  spilt,  from  his  own  veins, 
for  nothing." 

"And  who  may  that  redoubtable  individual  be,  Master 
Sage  cried  M'Fuse.  "  Your  own  plethoric  person  ?  IIow 
now,  Doyle — to  what  am  I  indebted  for  the  honor  of  this 
visit  ?" 

This  sudden  question  was  put  by  the  captain  of  grenadiers 
to  the  orderly  of  his  own  company,  who  at  that  instant  filled 
the  door  of  the  apartment  with  his  huge  frame,  in  the  attitude 
of  military  respect,  as  if  about  to  address  his  ofiicer. 

"  Orders  have  come  down,  sir,  to  parade  the  men  at  half  an 
hour  after  tattoo,  and  to  be  in  readiness  for  active  service." 

The  three  gentlemen  rose  together  from  their  chairs  at  this 
intelhgence,  while  M'Fuse  exclaimed — "A  night-march!  Pooh! 
We  are  to  be  sent  back  to  garrison  duty,  I  suppose  ;  the  com- 
panies in  the  line  grow  sleepy,  and  wish  a  relief.  Gage  might 
have  taken  a  more  suitable  time,  than  to  put  gentlemen  on 
their  march  so  soon  after  such  a  feast  as  this  of  yours,  Polly." 

"  There  is  some  deeper  meaning  to  so  extraordinary  an  or- 
der," interrupted  Lionel :  "  there  goes  the  tap  of  the  tattoo,  this 
instant !  Are  no  other  troops  but  your  company  ordered  to 
parade  ?" 

"  The  whole  battalion  is  under  the  same  orders,  your  honor, 
and  so  is  the  battalion  of  light  infantry  ;  I  was  commanded  to 
report  it  so  to  Captain  Polwarth,  if  I  saw  him." 

"  This  bears  some  meaning,  gentlemen,"  said  Liotiel,  "and  it 
is  necessary  to  be  looked  to.  If  either  corps  leaves  the  town 
to-night,  I  will  march  with  it  as  a  volunteer  ;  for  ii  is  my  busi- 
ness, just  now,  to  examine  into  the  state  of  the  country." 

"  That  we  shall  march  to-night,  is  sure,  your  honor,"  added 


106 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


the  sergeant,  with  the  confidence  of  an  old  soldier ;  "  but  how 
far,  or  on  what  road,  is  known  only  to  the  officers  of  the  staff ; 
though  the  men  think  we  are  to  go  out  by  the  colleges." 

"  And  what  has  put  so  learned  an  opinion  in  their  silly 
heads  ?"  demanded  his  captain. 

"  One  of  the  men  who  has  been  on  leave,  has  just  got  in, 
and  reports  that  a  squad  of  gentlemen  from  the  army  dined 
near  them,  your  honor,  and  that  as  night  set  in  they  mounted, 
and  began  to  patrol  the  roads  in  that  direction.  He  was  met 
and  questioned  by  four  of  them  as  he  crossed  the  flats." 

"  All  this  confirms  my  conjectures,"  cried  Lionel :  "  there  is 
a  man  who  might  now  prove  of  important  service — Job — where 
is  the  simpleton,  Meriton  ?" 

"  He  was  called  out,  sir,  a  minute  since,  and  has  left  the 
house." 

"  Then  send  in  Mr.  Sage,"  continued  the  young  man,  musing 
as  he  spoke.  A  moment  after  it  was  reported  to  him  that  Seth 
had  strangely  disappeared  also. 

"  Curiosity  has  led  him  to  the  barracks,"  said  Lionel,  "  where 
duty  calls  you,  gentlemen.  I  will  despatch  a  little  business, 
and  join  you  there  in  an  hour ;  you  cannot  march  short  of  that 
time." 

The  bustle  of  a  general  departure  succeeded.  Lionel  threw 
his  cloak  into  the  arms  of  Meriton,  to  whom  he  delivered  his 
orders,  took  his  arms,  and,  making  his  apologies  to  his  guests, 
he  left  the  house  with  the  manner  of  one  who  saw  a  pressing 
necessity  to  be  prompt.  M'Fuse  proceeded  to  equip  himself 
with  the  deliberation  of  a  soldier  who  was  too  much  practised 
to  be  easily  disconcerted.  Notwithstanding  his  great  delibera- 
tion, the  delay  of  Polwarth,  however,  eventually  vanquished  the 
patience  of-  the  grenadier,  who  exclaimed,  on  hearing  the  other 
repeat,  for  the  fourth  time,  an  order  concerning  the  preservation 
of  certain  viands,  to  which  he  appeared  to  cling  in  spirit,  after  a 
carnal  separation  was  directed  by  fortune. 

"  Poh !  poh  !  man  "  exclaimed  the  Irishman  ;  "  why  will  you 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


107 


bother  yourself  on  the  eve  of  a  march  with  such  epicurean  pro- 
pensities !  It's  the  soldier  who  should  show  your  hermits  and 
anchorites  an  example  of  mortification;  besides,  Polly,  this 
affectation  of  care  and  provision  is  the  less  excusable  in  yourself 
—you,  who  have  been  well  aware  that  we  were  to  march  on  a 
secret  expedition  this  very  night  on  which  you  seem  so  much 
troubled." 

"  I !"  exclaimed  Polwarth ;  "  as  I  hope  to  eat  another  meal,  I 
am  as  ignorant  as  the  meanest  corporal  in  the  army  of  the 
whole  transaction.    Why  do  you  suspect  otherwise  ?" 

"  Trifles  tell  the  old  campaigner  when  and  where  the  blow  is 
to  be  struck,"  returned  M'Fuse,  coolly  drawing  his  military  over- 
coat tighter  to  his  large  frame ;  "  have  I  not,  with  my  own  eyes, 
seen  you,  within  the  hour,  provision  a  certain  captain  of  light 
infantry  after  a  very  heavy  fashion  ?  Damn  it,  man !  do  you 
think  I  have  served  these  five-and-twenty  years,  and  do  not 
know  that  when  a  garrison  begins  to  fill  its  granaries,  it  expects 
a  siege  ?" 

"  I  have  paid  no  more  than  a  suitable  compliment  to  the  en- 
tertainment of  Major  Lincoln,"  returned  Polwarth ;  "  but  so  far 
from  having  had  any  very  extraordinary  appetite,  I  have  not 
found  myself  in  a  condition  to  do  all  the  justice  I  could  wish  to 
several  of  the  dishes.  Mr.  Meriton,  I  will  thank  you  to  have 
the  remainder  of  that  bird  sent  down  to  the  barracks,  where  my 
man  will  receive  it ;  and,  as  it  may  be  a  long  march  and  a 
hungry  one,  add  the  tongue,  and  a  fowl,  and  some  of  the  ragout; 
we  can  warm  it  up  at  any  farm-house.  We'll  take  the  piece  of 
beef,  Mac— Leo  has  a  particular  taste  for  a  cold  cut ;  and  you 
might  put  up  the  ham,  also ;  it  will  keep  better  than  any  thing 
else,  if  we  should  be  out  long — ^and — and — I  believe  that  will 
do,  Meriton." 

"I  am  as  much  rejoiced  to  hear  it  as  I  should  be  to  hear  a 
proclamation  of  war  read  at  Charing  Cross,"  cried  M'Fuse; 
*'you  should  have  been  a  commissary,  Polly- — nature  meant 
you  for  an  army  sutler !" 


108 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Laugh  as  you  will,  Mac,"  returned  tlie  good-humored  Pol- 
warth ;  "I  shall  hear  your  thanks  when  we  halt  for  breakfast; 
but  I  attend  you  now." 

As  they  left  the  house,  he  continued,  "  I  hope  Gage  means 
no  more  than  to  push  us  a  little  in  advance  with  a  view  to  pro- 
tect the  foragers  and  the  supplies  of  the  army.  Such  a  situation 
would  have  very  pretty  advantages;  for  a  system  might  be 
estabhshed  that  would  give  the  mess  of  the  light  corps  the 
choice  of  the  whole  market." 

"  'Tis  a  mighty  preparation  about  some  old  iron  gun,  which 
would  cost  a  man  his  life  to  put  a  match  to,"  returned  MTuse, 
cavalierly ;  "  for  my  part,  Captain  Polwarth,  if  we  are  to  fight 
these  colonists  at  all,  I  would  do  the  thing  like  a  man,  and 
allow  the  lads  to  gather  together  a  suitable  arsenal,  that  when 
we  come  to  blows,  it  may  be  a  military  affair.  As  it  now 
stands,  I  should  be  ashamed,  as  I  am  a  soldier  and  an  Irishman, 
to  bid  my  fellows  pull  a  trigger  or  make  a  charge  on  a  set  of 
peasants,  whose  firearms  look  more  like  rusty  water-pipes  than 
muskets,  and  who  have  half  a  dozen  cannon  with  touch-holes 
that  a  man  may  put  his  head  in,  with  muzzles  just  large  enough 
to  throw  marbles." 

"  I  don't  know,  Mac,"  said  Polwarth,  while  they  diligently 
pursued  their  way  towards  the  quarters  of  their  men  ;  "  even  a 
marble  may  destroy  a  man's  appetite  for  his  dinner ;  and  the 
countrymen  possess  a  gi*eat  advantage  over  us  in  commanding 
the  supplies  ;  the  difference  in  equipments  would  not  more  than 
balance  the  odds." 

"I  wish  to  disturb  no  gentleman's  opinion  on  matters  of 
military  discretion,  Captain  Polwarth,"  said  the  grenadier,  with 
an  air  of  high  martial  pride ;  "  but  I  take  it  there  exists  a  ma- 
terial difference  between  a  soldier  and  a  butcher,  though  killing 
be  a  business  common  to  both.  I  repeat,  sir,  I  hope  that  this 
secret  expedition  is  for  a  more  worthy  object  than  to  deprive 
those  poor  devils,  with  whom  we  are  about  to  fight,  of  the 
means  of  makinjo;  a  good  battle ;  and  I  add,  sir,  that  such  is 


LXvlNEL  LINCOLN. 


109 


Bound  military  doctrine,  without  regarding  who  may  choose  to 
controvert  it." 

"  Your  sentiments  are  generous  and  manly,  Mac ;  but,  after 
all,  there  is  both  a  physical  and  moral  obligation  on  every  man 
to  eat ;  and  if  starvation  be  the  consequence  of  permitting  your 
enemies  to  bear  arms,  it  becomes  a  solemn  duty  to  deprive  them 
of  their  weapons.  No,  no ;  I  will  support  Gage  in  such  a  meas- 
ure, at  present,  as  highly  military." 

"  And  he  is  much  obhged  to  you,  sir,  for  jour  support,"  re- 
turned the  other ;  "  I  apprehend.  Captain  Polwarth,  whenever 
the  Lieutenant-general  Gage  finds  it  necessary  to  lean  on  any 
one  for  extraordinary  assistance,  he  will  remember  that  there  is 
a  regiment  called  the  Royal  Irish  in  the  country,  and  that  he  is 
not  entirely  ignorant  of  the  qualities  of  the  people  of  his  own 
nation.  You  have  done  well.  Captain  Polwarth,  to  choose  the 
light-infantry  service ;  they  are  a  set  of  foragers,  and  can  help 
themselves ;  but  the  grenadiers,  thank  God,  love  to  encounter 
men,  and  not  cattle,  in  the  field." 

How  long  the  good-nature  of  Polwarth  would  have  endured 
the  increasing  taunts  of  the  Irishman,  who  was  exasperating 
himself,  gradually,  by  his  own  arguments,  there  is  no  possibility 
of  determining ;  for  their  arrival  at  the  barracks  put  an  end  to 
the  controversy  and  to  the  feeling  it  was  beginning  to  engender. 


110 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"  Preserve  thy  sighs,  unthrifty  girl  I 
To  purify  the  air ; 
Thy  tears  to  thread,  instead  of  pearl, 
On  bracelets  of  thy  hair."  Devenakt. 

Lionel  miglit  haye  blushed  to  acknowledge  the  secret  and 
inexplicable  influence  which  his  unknown  and  mysterious  friend 
Ralph  had  obtained  over  his  feeHngs,  but  which  induced  him, 
on  leaving  his  own  quarters  thus  hastily,  to  take  his  way  into 
the  lower  parts  of  the  town,  in  quest  of  the  residence  of  Abigail 
Pray.  He  had  not  visited  the  sombre  tenement  of  this  woman 
since  the  night  of  his  arrival,  but  its  proximity  to  the  well-known 
town-hall,  as  well  as  the  quaint  architecture  of  the  building  it- 
self, had  frequently  brought  its  exterior  under  his  observation  in 
the  course  of  his  rambles  through  the  place  of  his  nativity.  A 
guide  being  consequently  unnecessary,  he  took  the  most  direct 
and  frequented  route  to  the  Dock  Square.  When  Lionel  issued 
into  the  street,  he  found  a  deep  darkness  already  enveloping  the 
peninsula  of  Boston,  as  if  nature  had  lent  herself  to  the  secret 
desio^ns  of  the  British  commandant.  The  fine  strain  of  a  shrill 
fife  was  playing  among  the  naked  hills  of  the  place,  accompanied 
by  the  occasional  and  measured  taps  of  the  sullen  drum ;  and, 
at  moments,  the  full  rich  notes  of  the  horns  would  rise  from  the 
common,  and,  borne  on  the  night  air,  sweep  along  the  narrow 
streets,  causing  the  nerves  of  the  excited  young  soldier  to  thrill 
with  a  stern  pleasure,  as  he  stepped  proudly  along.  The  prac- 
tised ear,  however,  detected  no  other  sounds  in  the  music  than 
the  usual  nightly  signal  of  rest;  and  when  the  last  melting 
strains  of  the  horns  seemed  to  be  lost  in  the  clouds,  a  stillness 
fell  upon  the  town  like  the  deep  and  slumbering  quiet  of  mid- 
night.   He  paused  a  moment  before  the  gates  of  Province 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Ill 


House,  and  after  examining,  with  an  attentive  eye,  the  windows 
of  the  building,  he  spoke  to  the  grenadier,  who  had  stopped  in 
his  short  walk  to  note  the  curious  stranger. 

"  You  should  have  company  within,  sentinel,"  he  said,  "  by 
the  brilliant  light  from  those  windows." 

The  rattling  of  Lionel's  side-arms,  as  he  pointed  with  his 
hand  in  the  direction  of  the  illuminated  apartment,  taught  the 
soldier  that  he  was  addressed  by  his  superior,  and  he  answered 
respectfully — 

"  It  does  not  become  one  such  as  I  to  pretend  to  know  much 
of  what  his  betters  do,  your  honor ;  but  I  stood  before  the  quar- 
ters of  General  Wolfe  the  very  night  we  went  up  to  the  Plains 
of  Abram  ;  and  I  think  an  old  soldier  can  tell  when  a  move- 
ment is  at  hand  without  asking  his  superiors  any  impertinent 
questions." 

"  I  suppose,  from  your  remark,  the  general  holds  a  council 
to-night  ?"  said  Lionel. 

"  No  one  has  gone  in,  sir,  since  I  have  been  posted,"  returned 
the  sentinel,  "but  the  heutenant-colonel  of  the  10th,  that  great 
JSTorthumbrian  lord,  and  the  old  major  of  marines.  A  great 
war-dog  is  that  old  man,  your  honor,  and  it  is  not  often  he 
comes  to  Province  House  for  nothing." 

"  A  good-night  to  you,  my  old  comrade,"  said  Lionel,  walking 
away :  "  'tis  probably  some  consultation  concerning  the  new  ex- 
ercises that  you  practise." 

The  grenadier  shook  his  head,  as  if  unconcerned,  and  resumed 
his  march  with  his  customary  steadiness.  A  very  few  minutes 
now  brought  Lionel  before  the  low  door  of  Abigail  Pray,  where 
he  again  stopped,  struck  with  the  contrast  between  the  gloomy, 
dark,  and  unguarded  threshold  over  which  he  was  about  to 
pass,  and  the  gay  portal  he  had  just-  left.  Urged,  however,  by 
his  feelings,  the  young  man  paused  but  a  moment  before  he 
tapped  lightly  for  admission.  After  repeating  his  summons, 
and  hearing  no  reply,  he  lifted  the  latch  and  entered  the  build- 
ing without  further  ceremony.*  The  large  and  vacant  apartmeijt 


112 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


in  which  he  found  himself  was  silent  and  dreary  as  the  still 
streets  he  had  quitted.  Groping  his  way  towards  the  little 
room  in  the  tower,  where  he  had  met  the  mother  of  Job,  as  be- 
fore related,  Lionel  found  that  apartment  also  tenantless  and 
dark.  He  was  turning  in  disappointment  to  quit  the  place, 
when  a  feeble  ray  fell  from  the  loft  of  the  building,  and  settled 
on  the  foot  of  a  rude  ladder  which  formed  the  means  of  commu- 
nication with  its  upper  apartments.  Hesitating  a  single  mo- 
ment how  to  decide,  he  then  yielded  to  his  anxiety,  and  ascended 
to  the  floor  above,  with  steps  as  light  as  extreme  caution  could 
render  them.  Like  the  basement,  the  building  was  subdivided 
here  into  a  large  open  wareroom,  and  a  small  rudely  finished 
apartment  in  each  of  its  towers.  Following  the  rays  from  a 
candle,  he  stood  on  the  threshold  of  one  of  these  little  rooms,  in 
which  he  found  the  individual  of  whom  he  was  in  quest.  The 
old  man  was  seated  on  the  only  broken  chair  which  the  loft 
contained,  and  before  him,  on  the  simple  bundle  of  straw  which 
vfould  seem,  by  the  garments  thrown  loosely  over  the  pile,  to  be 
intended  as  his  place  of  rest,  lay  a  large  map,  spread  for  inspec- 
tion, which  his  glazed  and  sunken  eyes  appeared  to  be  intently 
engaged  in  marking.  Lionel  hesitated  again,  while  he  regarded 
the  white  hairs  which  fell  across  the  temples  of  the  stranger,  as 
he  bowed  his  head  in  his  employment,  imparting  a  wild  and 
melancholy  expression  to  his  remarkable  countenance,  and 
seeming  to  hallow  their  possessor  by  the  air  of  great  age  and 
attendant  care  that  they  imparted. 

"  I  have  come  to  seek  you,"  the  young  man  at  length  said, 
"  since  you  no  longer  deem  me  worthy  of  your  care." 

"  You  come  too  late,"  returned  Ealph,  without  betraying  the 
least  emotion  at  the  suddenness  of  the  interruption,  or  even  rais- 
ing his  eyes  from  the  map  he  studied  so  intently;  "too  late  at 
least  to  avert  calamity,  if  not  to  learn  wisdom  from  its  lessons." 

"  You  know,  then,  of  the  secret  movements  of  the  night  ?" 

"  Old  age,  like  mine,  seldom  sleeps,"  returned  Ralph,  looking 
for  the  first  time  at  his  visitor ;  "  for  the  eternal  night  of  death 


LIONEL  LINOULJN. 


113 


promises  a  speedy  repose.  I,  too,  served  an  appreuticeslaip  in 
my  youth  to  yom'  trade  of  blood." 

"  Your  watchfulness  and  experience  have  then  detected  the 
Bigns  of  preparation  in  the  garrison?  Have  they  also  dis- 
covered the  objects  and  probable  consequences  of  the  en- 
terprise ?" 

"  Both.  Gage  weakly  thinks  to  crush  the  germ  of  liberty, 
which  has  already  quickened  in  the  land,  by  lopping  its  feeble 
branches,  when  it  is  rooted  in  the  hearts  of  the  people.  He 
thinks  that  bold  thoughts  can  be  humbled  by  the  destruction  of 
magazines." 

"  It  is  then  only  a  measure  of  precaution  that  he  is  about  to 
take  r 

The  old  man  shook  his  head  mournfully  as  he  answered — 
"  It  will  prove  a  measure  of  blood." 

"  I  intend  to  accompany  the  detachment  into  the  country," 
said  Lionel — "  it  will  probably  take  post  at  some  little  distance 
in  the  interior,  and  it  will  afford  me  a  fitting  opportunity  to 
make  those  inquiries  which  you  know  are  so  near  my  heart, 
and  in  which  you  have  promised  to  assist :  it  is  to  consult  on 
the  means,  that  I  have  now  sought  you." 

The  countenance  of  the  stranger  seemed  to  lose  its  character 
of  melancholy  reflection,  as  Lionel  spoke,  and  his  eyes  moved, 
vacant  and  unmeaning,  over  the  naked  rafters  above  him,  pass- 
ing in  their  wanderings  across  the  surface  of  the  unheeded 
map  again,  until  they  fell  full  upou  the  face  of  the  astonished 
youth,  where  they  remained  settled  for  more  than  a  minute, 
fixed  in  the  glazed,  riveted  look  of  death.  The  lips  of  Lionel 
had  already  opened  in  anxious  inquiry,  when  the  expression  of 
life  shot  again  into  the  features  of  Ralph,  with  the  suddenness, 
and  with  an  appearance  of  the  physical  reality  with  which  light 
flashes  from  the  sun  when  emerging  from  a  cloud. 

"  You  are  ill !"  Lionel  exclaimed. 

"  Leave  me,"  said  the  old  man,  "leave  me." 

"  Surely  not  at  such  a  moment,  and  alone." 


114 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  I  bid  you  leave  me — we  shall  meet  as  you  desire,  in  the 
country." 

"  You  would  then  have  me  accompany  the  troops,  and  expect 
your  coming 
"  Both." 

"  Pardon  me,"  said  Lionel,  dropping  his  eyes  in  embarrass- 
ment, and  speaking  with  hesitation ;  "  but  your  present  abode, 
and  the  appearance  of  your  attire,  is  an  evidence  that  old  age 
has  come  upon  you  when  you  are  not  altogether  prepared  to 
meet  its  sufferings." 

"  You  would  offer  me  money  ?" 

"  By  accepting  it,  I  shall  become  the  obliged  party." 

"  When  my  wants  exceed  my  means,  young  man,  your  offer 
shall  be  remembered.    Go,  now ;  there  is  no  time  for  delay." 

"  But  I  would  not  leave  you  alone  ;  the  woman,  the  terma- 
gant, is  better  than  none." 

"  She  is  absent." 

"  And  the  boy — the  changeling  has  the  feelings  of  humanity^ 
and  would  aid  you  in  extremity." 

"  He  is  better  employed  than  in  propping  the  steps  of  a 
useless  old  man.  Go  then,  I  entreat — I  command,  sir,  that  you 
leave  me." 

The  firm,  if  not  haughty  manner,  in  which  the  other  repeated 
his  desire,  taught  Lionel  that  he  had  nothing  more  to  expect  at 
present,  and  he  obeyed  reluctantly,  by  slowly  leaving  the  apart- 
ment ;  and  as  soon  as  he  had  descended  the  ladder,  he  began  to 
retrace  his  steps  towards  his  own  quarters.  In  crossing  the  light 
drawbridge  thrown  over  the  naiTow  dock,  already  mentioned, 
his  contemplations  were  first  disturbed  by  the  sounds  of  voices, 
at  no  great  distance,  apparently  conversing  in  tones  that  were 
not  intended  to  be  heard  by  every  ear.  It  was  a  moment  when 
each  unusual  incident  was  likely  to  induce  inquiry,  and  Lionel 
stopped  to  examine  two  men,  who,  at  a  little  distance,  held  their 
secret  and  suppressed  communications.  He  had,  however,  paused 
but  an  instant,  when  the  whisperers  separated;  one  walking  leis- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


115 


urely  up  the  centre  of  the  square,  entering  under  one  of  the 
arches  of  the  market-place,  and  the  other  coming  directly  across 
the  bridge  on  which  he  himself  was  standing. 

"  What,  Job,  do  I  find  you  here,  whispering  and  plotting  in 
the  Dock  Square !"  exclaimed  Lionel ;  "  what  secrets  can  you 
have,  that  require  the  cover  of  night  ?" 

"  Job  Uves  there,  in  the  old  ware'us',"  said  the  lad  sullenly — 
"  ISTab  has  plenty  of  house-room,  now  the  king  won't  let  the  peo- 
ple bring  in  their  goods." 

"  But  whither  are  you  going  ?  into  the  water  ?  surely  the  road 
to  your  bed  cannot  be  through  the  town  dock." 

"  Nab  wants  fish  to  eat,  as  well  as  a  ruff  to  keep  off  the  rain," 
said  Job,  dropping  lightly  from  the  bridge  into  a  small  canoe, 
which  was  fastened  to  one  of  its  posts,  "  and  now  the  king  has 
closed  the  harbor,  the  fish  have  to  come  up  in  the  dark ;  for 
come  they  will ;  Boston  fish  an't  to  be  shut  out  by  acts  of  Par- 
liament I" 

"  Poor  lad  1"  exclaimed  Lionel,  "  return  to  your  home  and 
your  bed ;  here  is  money  to  buy  food  for  your  mother,  if  she 
suffers :  you  will  draw  a  shot  from  some  of  the  sentinels  by 
going  about  the  harbor  thus  at  night." 

"  Job  can  see  a  ship  farther  than  a  ship  can  see  Job,"  returned 
the  other  ;  "  and  if  they  should  kill  Job,  they  needn't  think  to 
shoot  a  Boston  boy  without  some  stir." 

Further  dialogue  was  precluded ;  the  canoe  gliding  along  the 
outer  dock  into  the  harbor,  with  a  stillness  and  swiftness  that 
showed  the  idiot  was  not  ignorant  of  the  business  which  he 
had  undertaken.  Lionel  resumed  his  walk,  and  was  passing 
the  head  of  the  square,  when  he  encountered,  face  to  face,  under 
the  light  of  a  lamp,  the  man  whose  figure  he  had  seen  but  a 
minute  before  to  issue  from  beneath  the  town-hall.  A  mutual 
desire  to  ascertain  the  identity  of  each  other  drew  them  to- 
gether. 

"  We  meet  again,  Major  Lincoln !"  said  the  interesting 
stranger  Lionel  remembered  to  have  seen  at  the  pohtical 


116 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


meeting.  "  Our  interviews  appear  ordained  to  occur  in  secret 
places." 

"  And  Job  Pray  would  seem  to  be  the  presiding  spirit,"  re- 
turned the  young  soldier.    "  You  parted  from  Mm  but  now  ?" 

"  I  trust,  sir,"  said  the  stranger  gravely,  "  that  this  is  not  a 
land,  nor  have  we  fallen  on  times,  when  and  where  an  honest 
man  dare  not  say  that  he  has  spoken  to  whom  he  pleases." 

"  Certainly,  sir,  it  is  not  for  me  to  prohibit  the  intercourse," 
returned  Lionel.  "  You  spoke  of  our  fathers ;  mine  is  well 
known  to  you,  it  would  seem,  though  to  me  you  are  a  stranger." 

"  And  may  be  so  yet  a  little  longer,"  said  the  other,  "  though 
I  think  the  time  is  at  hand  when  men  will  be  known  in  their 
true  characters ;  until  then.  Major  Lincoln,  I  bid  you  adieu." 

Without  waiting  for  any  reply,  the  stranger  took  a  different 
direction  from  that  which  Lionel  was  pursuing,  and  walked 
away  with  the  swiftness  of  one  who  was  pressed  with  urgent 
business.  Lionel  soon  ascended  into  the  upper  part  of  the  toAvn, 
with  the  intention  of  going  into  Tremont-street,  to  communicate 
his  design  to  accompany  the  expedition.  It  was  now  apparent 
to  the  young  man  that  a  rumor  of  the  contemplated  movement 
of  the  troops  was  spreading  secretly,  but  swiftly,  among  the 
people.  He  passed  several  groups  of  earnest  and  excited  tov/ns- 
men,  conferring  together  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  from  some 
of  whom  he  overheard  the  startling  intelligence  that  the  neck, 
the  only  approach  to  the  place  by  land,  was  closed  by  a  line  oi 
sentinels ;  and  that  guard-boats  from  the  vessels  of  war  were 
encircling  the  peninsula  in  a  manner  to  intercept  the  communi- 
cation with  the  adjacent  country.  Still  no  indications  of  a 
military  alarm  could  be  discovered,  though,  at  times,  a  stifled 
hum,  like  the  notes  of  busy  preparation,  was  borne  along  by  the 
damp  breezes  of  the  night,  and  mingled  with  those  sounds  of  a 
spring  evening,  which  increased  as  he  approached  the  skirts  of 
the  dwellings.  In  Tremont-street  Lionel  found  no  appearance 
of  that  excitement,  which  was  spreading  so  rapidly  in  the  old 
and  lower  parts  of  the  town.    He  passed  into  his  own  room 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


117 


without  meeting  any  of  tlie  family,  and  having  completed  his 
brief  arrangements,  he  was  descending  to  inquire  for  his  kins- 
women, when  the  voice  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  proceeding  from  a 
small  apartment  appropriated  to  her  own  use,  arrested  his  steps. 
Anxious  to  take  leave  in  person,  he  approached  the  half-open 
door,  and  would  have  asked  permission  to  enter,  had  not  his  eye 
rested  on  the  person  of  Abigail  Pray,  wdio  was  in  earnest  confer- 
ence with  the  mistress  of  the  mansion. 

"  A.  man  aged,  and  poor,  say  you  ?"  observed  Mrs.  Lechmere, 
at  that  instant. 

"  And  one  that  seems  to  know  all,"  interrupted  Abigail,  glan- 
cing her  eyes  about  with  an  expression  of  superstitious  terror. 

"  All !"  echoed  Mrs.  Lechmere,  her  lip  trembling  more  with 
apprehension  than  age  ;  "  and  he  arrived  with  Major  Lincoln, 
say  you 

"  In  the  same  ship  ;  and  it  seems  that  heaven  has  ordained 
that  he  shall  dwell  with  me  in  my  poverty,  as  a  punishment  for 
my  great  sins !" 

"  But  why  do  you  tolerate  his  presence,  if  it  be  irksome  f 
said  Mrs.  Lechmere ;  "  you  are  at  least  the  mistress  of  your  own 
dwelling." 

"  It  has  pleased  God  that  my  home  shall  be  the  home  of  any 
who  are  so  miserable  as  to  need  one.  He  has  the  same  .right 
to  live  in  the  warehouse  that  I  have." 

"  You  have  the  rights  of  a  woman,  and  of  first  possession," 
said  Mis.  Lechmere,  with  that  unyielding  severity  of  manner 
that  Lionel  had  often  observed  before ;  "  I  would  turn  him  into 
the  street,  like  a  dog." 

"  Into  the  street !"  repeated  Abigail,  again  looking  about  her 
in  secret  terror ;  "  speak  lower.  Madam  Lechmere,  for  the  love 
of  heaven.  I  dare  not  even  look  at  him :  he  reminds  me  of  all 
I  have  ever  known,  and  of  all  the  evil  I  have  ever  done,  by  his 
scorching  eye — and  yet  I  cannot  tell  why  ;  and  then  Job  wor- 
ships him  as  a  god,  and  if  I  should  offend  him,  he  could  easily 
worm  from  the  child  all  that  you  and  I  wnsh  so  much — " 


118 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  How !"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Lechmere,  in  a  voice  husky  with 
horror,  "  have  you  been  so  base  as  to  make  a  confidant  of  that 
fool  ?" 

"  That  fool  is  the  child  of  my  bosom,"  said  Abigail,  raising 
her  hands,  as  if  imploring  pardon  for  the  indiscretion.  "  Ah  ! 
Madam  Lechmere,  you,  who  are  rich,  and  great,  and  happy,  and 
have  such  a  sweet  and  sensible  grandchild,  cannot  know  how  to 
love  one  like  Job ;  but  when  the  heart  is  loaded  and  heavy,  it 
throws  its  burden  on  any  that  will  bear  it ;  and  Job  is  my  child, 
though  he  is  but  little  better  than  an  idiot !" 

It  was  by  no  trifling  exertion  of  his  breeding  that  Lionel  was 
enabled  to  profit  by  the  inability  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  to  reply,  and 
to  turn  away  from  the  spot,  and  cease  to  listen  to  a  conversa- 
tion that  was  not  intended  for  his  ear.  He  reached  the  parlor, 
and  threw  himself  on  one  of  its  settees,  before  he  was  conscious 
that  he  was  no  longer  alone  or  unobserved. 

"  What !  Major  Lincoln  returned  from  his  revels  thus  early, 
and  armed  like  a  bandit,  to  his  teeth  !"  exclaimed  the  playful 
voice  of  Cecil  Dynevor,  who,  unheeded,  was  in  possession  of  the 
opposite  seat,  vfhen  he  entered  the  room. 

Lionel  started,  and  rubbed  his  forehead,  like  a  man  awaking 
from  a  dream,  as  he  answered — 

"Yes,  a  bandit,  or  any  other  opprobrious  name  you  please;  I 
deserve  them  all." 

"  Surely,"  said  Cecil,  turning  pale,  "  none  other  dare  use  such 
language  of  Major  Lincoln,  and  he  does  it  unjustly." 

"What  foohsh  nonsense  have  I  uttered.  Miss  Dynevor?" 
cried  Lionel,  recovering  his  recollection.  "  I  was  lost  in 
thought,  and  heard  your  language  without  comprehending  its 
meaning." 

"  Still,  you  are  armed  :  a  sword  is  not  a  usual  instrument  at 
your  side,  and  noAv  you  bear  even  pistols  !" 

"Yes,"  returned  the  young  soldier,  laying  aside  his  dangerous 
implements ;  "  yes,  I  am  about  to  march  as  a  volunteer,  with  a 
party  that  go  into  the  country  to-night,  and  I  take  these  because 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


119 


I  would  affect  something  very  warlike,  thougli  you  well  know 
how  peaceably  I  am  disposed." 

"  March  into  the  country — and  in  the  dead  of  night !"  said 
Cecil,  catching  her  breath,  and  turning  pale.  "  And  does  Lio- 
nel Lincoln  volunteer  on  such  a  duty  ?" 

"  I  volunteer  to  perform  no  other  duty  than  to  be  a  wdtness 
of  whatever  may  occur  :  you  are  not  more  ignorant  yourself  of 
the  nature  of  the  expedition  than  I  am  at  this  moment." 

Then  remain  where  you  are,"  said  Cecil,  firmly,  "and  enlist 
not  in  an  enterprise  that  may  be  unholy  in  its  purposes  and  dis- 
graceful in  its  results." 

"  Of  the  former  I  am  innocent,  whatever  they  may  be,  nor 
will  they  be  affected  by  my  presence  or  absence.  There  is  little 
danger  of  disgrace  in  accompanying  the  grenadiers  and  light  in- 
fantry of  this  army.  Miss  Dynevor,  though  it  should  be  against 
treble  their  numbers  of  chosen  troops." 

"  Then  it  would  seem,"  said  Agnes  Danforth,  speaking  as  she 
entered  the  room,  "  that  our  friend  Mercury,  that  feather  of  a 
man.  Captain  Polwarth,  is  to  be  one  of  these  night  depredators! 
Heaven  shield  the  hen-roosts  !" 

"  You  have,  then,  heard  the  intelligence,  Agnes  ?" 

"  I  have  heard  that  men  are  arming,  and  that  boats  are  row- 
ing round  the  town  in  all  directions,  and  that  it  is  forbidden  to 
enter  or  quit  Boston,  as  we  were  wont  to  do,  Cecil,  at  such  hours 
and  in  such  fashion  as  suited  us  plain  Americans,"  said  Agnes, 
endeavoring  to  conceal  her  deep  vexation  in  affected  irony. 
"  God  only  can  tell  in  what  all  these  oppressive  measures  will 
end." 

"  If  you  go  only  as  a  curious  spectator  of  the  depredations  of 
the  troops,"  continued  Cecil,  "  are  you  not  wrong  to  lend  them 
even  the  sanction  of  your  name  ?" 

"  I  have  yet  to  learn  that  there  will  be  depredations." 

"  You  forget,  Cecil,"  interrupted  Agnes  Danforth,  scornfully, 
'Vthat  Major  Lincoln  did  not  ariive  until  after  the  renowned 
march  from  Roxbury  to  Dorchester!    Then  the  troops  gathered 


120 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


their  laurels  under  the  face  of  the  sun  ;  but  it  is  easy  to  con- 
ceive how  much  more  glorious  their  achievements  will  become 
when  darkness  shall  conceal  their  blushes  I" 

"  The  blood  rushed  across  the  fine  features  of  Lionel,  but  he 
laughed  as  he  arose  to  depart,  saying — 

"  You  compel  me  to  beat  the  retreat,  my  spirited  coz.  If  I 
have  my  usual  fortune  in  this  forage,  your  larder,  however,  shall 
be  the  better  for  it.  I  kiss  my  hand  to  you,  for  it  would  be 
necessary  to  lay  aside  the  scarlet,  to  dare  to  approach  with  a 
more  peaceable  offering.  But  here  I  may  make  an  approach  to 
something  like  amity." 

He  took  the  hand  of  Cecil,  who  frankly  met  his  ofier,  and 
insensibly  suffered  herself  to  be  led  to  the  door  of  the  building 
while  he  continued  speaking. 

"  I  would,  Lincoln,  that  you  were  not  to  go,"  she  said,  when 
they  stopped  on  the  threshold — "  it  is  not  required  of  you  as  a 
soldier ;  and  as  a  man,  your  own  feelings  should  teach  you  to 
be  tender  of  your  countrymen." 

"  It  is  as  a  man  that  I  go,  Cecil,"  he  answered.  "  I  have 
motives  that  you  cannot  suspect." 

"  And  is  your  absence  to  be  long  ?" 

"  If  not  for  days,  my  object  will  be  unaccomplished  ;"  but  he 
added,  pressing  her  hand  gently,  "  You  cannot  doubt  my  will- 
ingness to  return  when  occasion  may  offer." 

"  Go,  then,"  said  Cecil,  hastily,  and  perhaps  unconsciously 
extiicating  herself — "  go,  if  you  have  secret  reasons  for  your 
conduct ;  but  remember  that  the  acts  of  every  officer  of  your 
rank  are  keenly  noted." 

"  Do  you  then  distrust  me,  Ce  )il  ?" 

"  No — no — I  distrust  no  one,  Major  Lincoln  ;  go — go — 
and — and — we  shall  see  you,  Lionel,  the  instant  you  return." 

He  had  not  time  to  reply,  for  she  glided  into  the  building  so 
rapidly  as  to  give  the  young  man  an  opportunity  only  to  ob- 
serve, that,  instead  of  rejoining  her  cousin,  her  light  form  passed 
Mp  the  great  stairs  with  the  swiftness  and  grace  of  a  fairy. 


IIONEL  LINCOLN. 


123 


CHAPTER  IX. 

"Hang  out  our  banners  on  the  out^ya^d  walls: 
The  cry  is  still,  They  come.'''' 

Macbeth. 

Lionel  had  walked  from  the  dwelling  of  Mrs.  Leelimere  to 
the  foot  of  Beacon  Hill,  and  had  even  toiled  up  some  part  of 
the  steep  ascent,  before  he  recollected  why  he  was  thus  wan- 
dering by  himself  at  that  unusual  hour.  Hearing,  however,  no 
sounds  that  denoted  an  immediate  movement  of  the  troops,  he 
then  yielded,  unconsciously,  to  the  nature  of  his  sensations, 
which  just  at  that  moment  rendered  his  feelings  jealous  of 
communication  with  others,  and  continued  to  ascend  until  he 
gained  the  summit  of  the  eminence.  From  this  elevated  stand 
he  paused  to  contemplate  the  scene  which  lay  in  the  obscurit} 
of  night  at  his  feet,  while  his  thoughts  returned  from  the  flat- 
tering anticipations  in  which  he  had  been  indulging,  to  consider 
the  more  pressing  business  of  the  hour.  There  arose  from  the 
town  itself  a  distant  buzzing,  hke  the  hum  of  suppressed  agita- 
tion, and  hghts  were  seen  to  glide  along  the  streets,  or  flit 
across  the  windows,  in  a  manner  which  denoted  that  a  knovfl- 
edge  of  the  expedition  had  become  general  within  its  dwellings. 
Lionel  turned  his  head  towards  the  common,  and  listened  long 
and  anxiously,  but  in  vain,  to  detect  a  single  sound  that  could 
betray  any  unusual  stir  among  the  soldiery.  Towards  the  inte- 
rior, the  darkness  of  night  had  fallen  heavily,  dimming  the  am- 
phitheatre of  hills  that  encircled  the  place,  and  enshrouding  the 
vales  and  lowlands  between  them  and  the  water  with  an  impen- 
etrable veil  of  gloom.  There  were  moments,  indeed,  when  he 
imagined  he  overheard  some  indications  among  the  people  of 
the  opposite  shore,  that  they  were  apprised  of  the  impending 

6 


122 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


descent ;  but  on  listening  more  attentively,  the  utmost  of  wliich 
his  ear  could  assure  him,  was  the  faint  lowing  of  cattle  from 
the  meadows,  or  the  plash  of  oars  from  a  line  of  boats,  which, 
by  stretching  far  along  the  shores,  told  both  the  nature  and  the 
extent  of  the  watchfulness  that  was  deemed  necessary  for  the 
occasion. 

While  Lionel  stood  thus,  on  the  margin  of  the  little  platform 
of  earth  that  had  been  formed  by  levelling  the  apex  of  the  nat- 
ural cone,  musing  on  the  probable  results  of  the  measure  his 
superiors  had  been  resolving  to  undertake,  a  dim  hght  shed 
itself  along  the  grass,  and  glancing  upward,  danced  upon  the 
beacon  with  strong  and  playful  rays. 

"  Scoundrel !"  exclaimed  a  man,  springing  from  his  place  of 
concealment,  at  the  foot  of  the  post,  and  encountering  him  face 
to  face,  "  do  you  dare  to  fire  the  beacon  ?" 

"  I  would  answer  by  asking  how  you  dare  to  apply  so  rude 
an  epithet  to  me,  did  I  not  see  the  cause  of  your  error,"  said 
Lionel.  "  The  light  is  from  yonder  moon,  which  is  just  emerging 
from  the  ocean." 

"  Ah  !  I  see  my  error,"  returned  his  rough  assailant.  "  By 
heavens,  I  would  have  sworn,  at  first,  'twas  the  beacon." 

"  You  must,  then,  believe  in  the  traditional  witchcraft  of  this 
country  ;  for  nothing  short  of  necromancy  could  have  enabled 
me  to  light  those  combustibles  at  this  distance." 

"  I  don't  know ;  'tis  a  strange  people  we  have  got  amongst — 
they  stole  the  cannon  from  the  gun-house,  here,  a  short  time 
since,  when  I  would  have  said  the  thing  was  impossible.  It 
was  before  your  arrival,  sir ;  for  I  now  believe  I  address  myself 
to  Major  Lincoln,  of  the  47th." 

"  You  are  nearer  the  truth  this  time  than  in  your  first  con- 
jecture as  to  my  character,"  said  Lionel ;  "  but  have  I  met  one 
of  the  gentlemen  of  our  mess  ?" 

The  stranger  now  explained  that  he  was  a  subaltern  in  a 
different  regiment,  but  that  he  well  knew  the  person  of  the 
other.    He  added  that  he  had  been  ordered  to  watch  on  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


123 


hill  to  prevent  any  of  the  inhabitants  lighting  the  beacon,  or 
making  any  other  signal  which  might  convey  into  the  country 
a  knowledge  of  the  contemplated  inroad. 

"This  matter  wears  a  more  serious  aspect  than  I  had  sup- 
posed," returned  Lionel,  when  the  young  man  had  ended  his 
apologies  and  explanation ;  "  the  commander-in-chief  must  in- 
tend more  than  we  are  aware  of,  by  employing  officers  in  this 
manner  to  do  the  duties  of  privates." 

"  We  poor  subs  know  but  little,  and  care  less  what  he  means," 
cried  the  ensign ;  "  though  I  will  acknowledge  that  I  can  see 
no  sufficient  reason  why  British  troops  should  put  on  coats  of 
darkness  to  march  against  a  parcel  of  guessing,  canting  country- 
men, who  would  run  at  the  sight  of  their  uniforms  under  a 
bright  sun.  Had '  I  my  will,  the  tar  above  us,  there,  should 
blaze  a  mile  high,  to  bring  down  the  heroes  from  Connecticut 
river.  The  dogs  would  cow  before  two  full  companies  of  grena- 
diers. Ha !  listen,  sir ;  there  they  go,  now ;  the  pride  of  our 
army !  I  know  them  by  their  heavy  tread." 

Lionel  did  listen  attentively,  and  plainly  distinguished  the 
measured  step  of  a  body  of  disciphned  men,  moving  rapidly 
across  the  common,  as  if  marching  towards  the  water-side. 
Hastily  bidding  his  companion  good-night,  he  threw  himself 
over  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  taking  the  direction  of  the  sounds, 
he  arrived  at  the  shore  at  the  same  instant  with  the  troops. 
Two  dark  masses  of  human  bodies  were  halted  in  order,  and  as 
Lionel  skirted  the  columns,  his  experienced  eye  judged  that  the 
force  collected  before  him  could  be  but  little  short  of  a  thousand 
men.  A  group  of  officers  was  clustered  on  the  beach,  and  he 
approached  it,  rightly  supposing  that  it  was  gathered  about  the 
leader  of  the  party.  This  officer  proved  to  be  the  lieutenant-colo- 
nel of  the  10th,  who  was  in  close  conversation  with  the  old  major 
of  marines  alluded  to  by  the  sentinel  who  stood  before  the  gates 
of  Province  House.  To  the  former  of  these  the  young  soldie? 
addressed  himself,  demanding  leave  to  accompany  the  detach- 
ment as  a  volunteer.    After  a  few  words  of  explanation  his  re- 


124 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


quest  was  granted,  thougli  each  forbore  to  touch  in  the  shghtest 
manner  on  the  secret  objects  of  the  expedition. 

Lionel  now  found  his  groom,  who  had  followed  the  troops 
with  his  master's  horses,  and,  after  giving  his  orders  to  the  man, 
he  proceeded  in  quest  of  his  friend  Polwarth,  w^hom  he  soon 
discovered,  posted  in  all  the  stiffness  of  military  exactness,  at 
the  head  of  the  leading  platoon  of  the  column  of  light  infantry. 
As  it  was  apparent,  both  from  the  position  they  occupied,  as 
well  as  by  the  boats  that  had  been  collected  at  the  point,  that 
the  detachment  w^as  not  to  leave  the  peninsula  by  its  ordinary 
channel  of  communication  with  the  country,  there  remained  no 
alternative  but  to  await  patiently  the  order  to  embark.  The 
delay  was  but  short,  and,  as  the  most  perfect  order  was  observed, 
the  troops  were  soon  seated,  and  the  boats  pulled  heavily  from 
the  land  just  as  the  rays  of  the  moon,  which  had  been  some 
time  playing  among  the  hills  and  gilding  the  spires  of  the  town, 
diffused  themselves  softly  over  the  bay,  and  lighted  the  busy 
scene,  with  an  effect  not  unlike  the  sudden  rising  of  the  curtain 
at  the  opening  of  some  interesting  drama.  Polwarth  had  estab- 
lished himself  by  the  side  of  Lionel,  much  to  the  ease  of  his 
limbs,  and  as  they  moved  slowly  into  the  light,  all  those  misgiv- 
ings which  had  so  naturally  accompanied  his  musings  on  the 
difficulties  of  a  partisan  irruption,  vanished  before  the  loveliness 
of  the  time,  and  possibly  before  the  quietude  of  the  action. 

"  There  are  moments  when  I  could  fancy  the  life  of  a  sailor," 
he  said,  leaning  indolently  back,  and  playing  with  one  hand  in 
the  water.  "This  pulling  about  in  boats  is  easy  work,  and 
must  be  capital  assistance  for  a  heavy  digestion,  inasmuch  as  it 
furnishes  air  with  as  httle  violent  exercise  as  may  be.  Your 
marine  should  lead  a  merry  life  of  it !" 

"  They  are  said  to  murmur  at  the  clashing  of  their  duties  with 
those  of  the  sea-officers,"  said  Lionel ;  "  and  I  have  often  heard 
them  complain  of  a  want  of  room  to  make  use  of  their  legs." 

"  Humph !"  ejaculated  Polwarth ;  "  the  leg  is  a  part  of  a 
man  for  which  I  see  less  actual  necessity  than  for  any  other 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


125 


portion  of  his  fiame.  I  often  think  there  has  been  a  sad  mis- 
take in  the  formation  of  the  animal ;  as,  for  instance,  one  can 
be  a  very  good  waterman,  as  you  see,  without  legs — a  good  fid- 
dler, a  first-rate  tailor,  a  lawyer,  a  doctor,  a  parson,  a  very  tol- 
erable cook,  and,  in  short,  any  thing  but  a  dancing-master.  I 
see  no  use  in  a  leg,  unless  it  be  to  have  the  gout ;  at  any  rate,  a 
leg  of  twelve  inches  is  as  good  as  one  a  mile  long,  and  the  sa\ang 
might  be  appropriated  to  the  nobler  parts  of  the  animal,  such 
as  the  brain  and  the  stomach." 

"You  forget  the  officer  of  light  infantry,"  said  Lionel, 
laughing. 

"  You  might  give  him  a  couple  of  inches  more ;  though,  as 
every  thing  in  this  wicked  world  is  excellent  only  by  compari- 
son, it  would  amount  to  the  same  thing,  and  on  my  system  a 
man  would  be  just  as  fit  for  the  light  infantry  without  as  with 
legs ;  and  he  would  get  rid  of  a  good  deal  of  troublesome  ma- 
noeuvring, especially  of  this  new  exercise.  It  would  then  be- 
come a  dehghtful  service,  Leo  ;  for  it  may  be  said  to  monopolize 
all  the  poetry  of  military  life,  as  you  may  see.  Neither  the 
imagination  nor  the  body  can  require  more  than  we  enjoy  at 
this  moment,  and  of  what  use,  I  would  ask,  are  our  legs  ? — if 
any  thing,  they  are  incumbrances  in  this  boat.  Here  we  have 
a  soft  moon,  and  softer  seats — smooth  water  and  a  stimulating 
air ;  on  one  side  a  fine  country,  which,  though  but  faintly  seen, 
is  known  to  be  fertile  and  rich  to  abundance ;  and  on  the  other 
a  picturesque  town,  stored  with  the  condiments  of  every  cli- 
mate :  even  those  rascally  privates  look  mellov/ed  by  the  moon- 
beams, with  their  scarlet  coats  and  glittering  arms !  Did  you 
meet  Miss  Danforth  in  your  visit  to  Tremont-street,  Major  Lin* 
coin?" 

"  That  pleasure  was  not  denied  me." 
"  Knew  she  of  these  martial  proceedings  ?" 
"  There  was  something  exceedingly  belhgerant  in  her  humor.'*' 
"  Spoke  she  of  the  light  infantry,  or  of  any  who  serve  in  the 
light  corps  V 


126 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Your  name  was  certainly  mentioned,"  returned  Lionel,  a 
little  dryly ;  "  she  intimated  that  the  hen-roosts  were  m  danger." 

"  Ah !  she  is  a  girl  of  a  million  !  her  very  acids  are  sweet ! 
the  spices  were  not  forgotten  when  the  dough  of  her  composi- 
tion was  mixed;  would  that  she  were  here — five  minutes  of 
moonshine  to  a  man  in  love  is  worth  a  whole  summer  of  a 
broiling  sun  :  'twould  be  a  master-stroke  to  entice  her  into  one 
of  our  picturesque  marches ;  your  partisan  is  the  man  to  take 
every  thing  by  surprise — women  and  fortifications  !  Where 
now  are  your  companies  of  the  line ;  your  artillery  and  dra- 
goons ;  your  engineers  and  stafi"  ?  night-capped  and  snoring  to 
a  man,  while  we  enjoy  here  the  very  dessert  of  existence — I 
wish  I  could  hear  a  nightingale." 

"  You  have  a  solitary  whippowill  whistling  his  notes,  as  if 
in  lamentation  at  our  approach." 

"  Too  dolorous,  and  by  far  too  monotonous ;  'tis  like  eating  pig 
for  a  month.    But  why  are  our  fifes  asleep  ?" 

"  The  precautions  of  a  whole  day  should  hardly  be  defeated 
by  the  tell-tale  notes  of  our  music,"  said  Lionel ;  "  your  spirits 
get  the  better  of  your  discretion.  I  should  think  the  prospect 
of  a  fatiguing  march  would  have  lowered  your  vein." 

"  A  fico  for  fatigue  !"  exclaimed  Polwarth  ;  "  we  only  go  out 
to  take  a  position  at  the  colleges  to  cover  our  supplies — we  are 
for  school,  Leo  :  only  fancy  the  knapsacks  of  the  men  to  be 
satchels, — humor  my  folly, — and  you  may  believe  yourself  once 
more  a  boy." 

The  spirits  of  Polwarth  had  indeed  undergone  a  sudden 
change,  when  he  found  the  sad  anticipations  which  crossed  his 
mind  on  first  hearing  of  a  night  inroad,  so  agreeably  disap- 
pointed by  the  comfortable  situation  he  occupied  ;  and  he  con- 
tinued conversing  in  the  manner  described,  until  the  boats 
reached  an  unfrequented  point  that  projected  a  little  way  into 
that  part  of  the  bay  which  washed  the  w^estern  side  of  the 
peninsula  of  Boston.  Here  the  troops  landed,  and  were  again 
formed  with  all  possible  dispatch.    The  company  of  Polwarth 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


127 


was  posted,  as  before,  at  the  head  of  the  column  of  light 
infantry ;  and  an  officer  of  the  staff  riding  a  short  distance  in 
front,  it  was  directed  to  follow  his  movements.  Lionel  ordered 
his  groom  to  take  the  route  of  the  troops  with  the  horses,  and 
placing  himself  once  more  by  the  side  of  the  captain,  they  pro- 
ceeded at  the  appointed  signal. 

"  Now  for  the  shades  of  old  Harvard  1"  said  Polwarth,  point- 
ing towards  the  humble  buildings  of  the  university ;  you  shall 
feast  this  night  on  reason,  while  I  will  make  a  more  sub — Ha  ! 
what  can  that  blind  quarter-master  mean  by  taking  this  direc- 
tion ?  Does  he  not  see  that  the  meadows  are  half  covered  with 
water  V 

"  Move  on,  move  on  with  the  light  infantry,"  cried  the  stern 
voice  of  the  old  major  of  marines,  who  rode  but  a  short  distance 
in  their  rear.    "  Do  you  falter  at  the  sight  of  water  ?" 

"  We  are  not  wharf-rats,"  said  Polwarth. 

Lionel  seized  him  by  the  arm,  and  before  the  disconcerted 
captain  had  time  to  recollect  himself,  he  was  borne  through  a 
wide  pool  of  stagnant  water,  mid-leg  deep. 

"  Do  not  let  your  romance  cost  your  commission,"  said  the 
major,  as  Polwarth  floundered  out  of  his  difficulties ;  "  here  is 
an  incident  at  once  for  your  private  narrative  of  the  campaign." 

"  Ah !  Leo,"  said  the  captain,  with  a  sort  of  comical  sorrow, 
"  I  fear  w^e  are  not  to  court  the  muses  by  this  hallowed  moon 
to-night." 

"  You  can  assure  yourself  of  that,  by  observing  that  we  leave 
the  academical  roofs  on  our  left — our  leaders  take  the  high- 
way." 

They  had  by  this  time  extricated  themselves  from  the  mead- 
ows, and  were  moving  on  a  road  which  led  into  the  interior. 

"  You  had  better  order  up  your  groom,  and  mount,  Major 
Lincoln,"  said  Polwarth,  sullenly  :  "  a  man  need  husband  his 
strength,  I  see." 

"  'Twould  be  folly  now  ;  I  am  wet,  and  must  walk  for 
safety." 


128 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


With  the  departure  of  Polwarth's  spirits  tlie  conversation  be- 
gan to  flag,  and  the  gentlemen  continued  their  inarch  with  only 
such  occasional  communications  as  arose  from  the  passing  inci- 
dents of  their  situation.  It  very  soon  became  apparent,  both  by  the 
direction  given  to  the  columns,  as  well  as  by  the  hurried  steps 
of  their  guide,  that  the  march  was  to  be  forced,  as  well  as  of 
some  length.  But  as  the  air  was  getting  cool,  even  Polwarth 
was  not  reluctant  to  warm  his  chilled  blood  by  more  than  ordi- 
nary exertion.  The  columns  opened  for  the  sake  of  ease,  and 
each  man  was  permitted  to  consult  his  own  convenience,  pro- 
vided he  preserved  his  appointed  situation,  and  kept  even  pace 
with  his  comrades.  In  this  manner  the  detachment  advanced 
swiftly,  a  general  silence  pervading  the  whole,  as  the  spirits  of 
the  men  settled  into  that  deep  sobriety  which  denotes  much 
earnestness  of  purpose.  At  first,  the  whole  country  appeared 
buried  in  a  general  sleep  ;  but  as  they  proceeded,  the  barking 
of  the  dogs,  and  the  tread  of  the  soldiery,  drew  the  inhabitants 
of  the  farm-houses  to  their  windows,  who  gazed  in  mute  won- 
der at  the  passing  spectacle,  across  which  the  mellow  light  of 
the  m-oon  cast  a  glow  of  brilhancy.  Lionel  had  turned  his 
head  from  studying  the  surprise  depicted  in  the  faces  of  the 
members  of  one  of  these  disturbed  families,  when  the  deep 
tones  of  a  distant  church-bell  came  sv^eeping  down  the  valley 
in  which  they  marched,  ringing  peal  on  peal,  in  the  quick, 
spirit-stirring  sounds  of  an  alarm.  The  men  raised  their  heads 
in  wondering  attention,  as  they  advanced  ;  but  it  was  not  long 
before  the  reports  of  firearms  were  heard  echoing  among  the 
hills,  and  bell  began  to  answer  bell  in  every  direction,  until  the 
sounds  blended  with  the  murmurs  of  the  night  air,  or  were  lost  in 
distance.  The  whole  country  was  now  filled  with  every  organ 
of  sound  that  the  means  of  the  people  furnished,  or  their  inge- 
nuity could  devise,  to  call  the  population  to  arms.  Fires  blazed 
along  the  heights,  the  bellowing  of  the  conchs  and  horns  min- 
gled with  the  rattling  of  the  muskets  and  the  varied  tones  of 
the  bells,  while  the  swift  clattering  of  horse?'  hoofs  began  to  be 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


120 


heard,  as  if  their  riders  were  dashing  furiously  along  the  flanks 
of  the  party. 

"  Push  on,  gentlemen,  push  on !"  shouted  the  old  veteran  of 
marines,  amid  the  din.  "  The  Yankees  have  awoke,  and  are 
stirring — we  have  yet  a  long  road  to  journey.  Push  on,  light 
infantry,  the  grenadiers  are  on  your  heels  !" 

The  advance  quickened  their  steps,  and  the  whole  body 
pushed  for  their  unknown  object  with  as  much  rapidity  as  the 
steadiness  of  military  array  would  admit.  In  this  manner  the 
detachment  continued  to  proceed  for  some  hours,  without  halt- 
ing, and  Lionel  imagined  that  they  had  advanced  several  leagues 
into  the  country.  The  sounds  of  the  alarm  had  now  passed 
away,  having  swept  far  inland,  until  the  faintest  evidence  of  its 
existence  was  lost  to  the  ear,  though  the  noise  of  horsemen, 
riding  furiously  along  the  by-ways,  yet  denoted  that  men  were 
still  hurrying  past  them,  to  the  scene  of  the  expected  strife.  As 
the  deceitful  light  of  the  moon  was  blending  with  the  truer  col- 
ors of  the  day,  the  welcome  sound  of  "Halt!"  was  passed  from 
the  rear  up  to  the  head  of  the  column  of  light  infantry. 

"  Halt !"  repeated  Polwarth,  with  instinctive  readiness,  and 
with  a  voice  that  sent  the  order  through  the  whole  length  of 
their  extended  line  ;  "  halt,  and  let  the  rear  close  :  if  my  judg- 
ment in  walking  be  worth  so  much  as  an  anchovy,  they  are 
some  miles  behind  us,  by  this  time.  A  man  needs  to  have 
crossed  his  race  with  the  blood  of  Flying  Childers  for  this  sort 
of  work !  The  next  command  should  be  to  break  our  fasts. 
Tom,  you  brought  the  trifles  I  sent  you  from  Major  Lincoln's 
quarters  ?" 

"  Yes,  sir,"  returned  his  man  ;  "  they  are  on  the  major's 
horses,  in  the  rear,  as — " 

"  The  major's  horses  in  the  rear,  you  ass,  when  food  is  in  such 
request  in  the  front !  I  wonder,  Leo,  if  a  mouthful  couldn't  be 
picked  up  in  yon  farm-house  V 

"  Pick  yourself  off  that  stone,  and  make  the  men  dress ; 
here  is  Pitcairn  closing  to  the  front  with  the  whole  battalion." 


130 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Lionel  had  hardly  spoken  before  an  order  was  passed  to  the 
light  infantry  to  look  to  their  arms,  and  for  the  grenadiers  to 
prime  and  load.  The  presence  of  the  veteran  who  rode  in  front 
of  the  column,  and  the  hurry  of  the  moment,  suppressed  the 
complaints  of  Polwarth,  who  was  in  truth  an  excellent  officer, 
as  it  respected  what  he  himself  termed  the  "  quiescent  details 
of  service."  Three  or  four  companies  of  the  light  corps  were 
detached  from  the  main  body,  and  formed  in  the  open  marching 
order  of  their  exercise,  when  the  old  marine,  placing  himself  at 
their  head,  gave  forth  the  order  to  advance  again  at  a  quick 
step.  The  road  now  led  into  a  vale,  and  at  some  distance  a 
small  hamlet  of  houses  was  dimly  seen  through  the  morning 
haze,  clustered  around  one  of  the  humble,  but  decent  temples, 
so  common  in  Massachusetts.  The  halt,  and  the  brief  prepara- 
tions that  succeeded,  had  excited  a  powerful  interest  in  the 
whole  of  the  detachment,  who  pushed  earnestly  forward,  keep- 
ing on  the  heels  of  the  charger  of  their  veteran  leader,  as  he 
passed  over  the  ground  at  a  small  trot.  The  air  partook  of  the 
scent  of  morning,  and  the  eye  was  enabled  to  dwell  distinctly 
on  surrounding  objects,  quickening,  aided  by  the  excitement  of 
the  action,  the  blood  of  the  men  who  had  been  toihng  through- 
out the  night  in  uncertain  obscurity  along  an  unknown,  and, 
apparently,  interminable  road.  Their  object  now  seemed  be- 
fore them  and  attainable,  and  they  pressed  forward  to  achieve 
it  in  animated  but  silent  earnestness.  The  plain  architecture  of 
the  church  and  of  its  humble  companions  had  just  become  dis- 
tinct, when  three  or  four  armed  horsemen  were  seen  attempting 
to  anticipate  their  arrival,  by  crossing  the  head  of  the  column, 
from  a  by-path. 

"  Come  in,"  cried  an  officer  of  the  staff  in  front,  "  come  in, 
or  quit  the  place." 

The  men  turned,  and  rode  biiskly  off,  one  of  their  party  flash- 
ing his  piece  in  a  vain  attempt  to  give  the  alarm.  A  low  man- 
date was  now  passed  through  the  ranks  to  push  on,  and  in  a 
few  moments  they  entered  on  a  full  view  of  the  hamlet,  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


131 


church,  and  the  little  green  on  which  it  stood.  The  forms  of 
men  were  seen  moving  swiftly  across  the  latter,  as  a  roll  of  a 
drum  broke  from  the  spot ;  and  there  were  glimpses  of  a  small 
body  of  countrymen,  drawn  up  in  the  afiectation  of  military 
parade. 

"  Push  on,  light  infantry  !"  cried  their  leader,  spurring  his 
horse,  and  advancing  with  the  staff  at  so  brisk  a  trot,  as  to  dis- 
appear round  an  angle  of  the  church. 

Lionel  pressed  forward  with  a  beating  heart,  for  a  crowd  of 
horrors  rushed  across  his  imagination  at  the  moment,  when  the 
stern  voice  of  the  major  of  marines  was  again  heard,  shout- 
ing— 

"  Disperse,  ye  rebels,  disperse !  Throw  down  your  arms, 
and  disperse  !" 

These  memorable  words  were  instantly  followed  by  the  re- 
ports of  pistols,  and  the  fatal  mandate  of  "  Fire  !"  when  a  loud 
shout  arose  from  the  whole  body  of  the  soldiery,  who  rushed 
upon  the  open  green,  and  threw  in  a  close  discharge  on  all  be- 
fore them. 

"  Great  God  1"  exclaimed  Lionel,  "  what  is  it  ye  do  ?  Ye 
fire  at  unoffending  men  !  Is  there  no  law  but  force  ?  Beat  up 
their  pieces,  Polwarth — stop  their  fire." 

"  Halt !"  cried  Polwarth,  brandishing  his  sword  fiercely 
among  his  men.  "  Come  to  an  order,  or  I'll  fell  ye  to  the 
earth  !" 

But  the  excitement  which  had  been  gathering  to  a  head  for 
so  many  hours,  and  the  animosity  which  had  so  long  been 
growing  between  the  troops  and  the  people,  were  not  to  be  re- 
pressed at  a  word.  It  was  only  when  Pitcairn  himself  rode  in 
among  the  soldiers,  and,  aided  by  his  officers,  beat  down  their 
arms,  that  the  uproar  was  gradually  quelled,  and  something 
like  order  was  again  restored.  Before  this  was  effected,  how- 
ever, a  few  scattering  shot  were  thrown  back  from  their  flying 
adversaries,  though  without  material  injury  to  the  British. 

When  the  firing  had  ceased,  officei^  and  men  stood  gazing 


132 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


at  eacli  other  for  a  few  moments,  as  if  even  tli^y  could  foresee 
some  of  the  mighty  events  which  were  to  follow  the  deeds  of 
that  hom\  The  smoke  slowly  arose,  like  a  lifted  veil,  from  the 
green,  and,  mingling  with  the  fogs  of  morning,  drove  heavily 
across  the  country,  as  if  to  communicate  the  fatal  intelligence 
that  the  final  appeal  to  arms  had  been  made.  Every  eye  was 
bent  inquiringly  on  the  fatal  green,  and  Lionel  beheld,  with  a 
feeling  allied  to  anguish,  a  few  men  at  a  distance,  writhing  and 
struggling  in  their  wounds,  while  some  five  or  six  bodies  lay 
stretched  upon  the  grass  in  the  appalhng  quiet  of  death.  Sick- 
ening at  the  sight,  he  turned,  and  walked  away  by  himself, 
while  the  remainder  of  the  troops,  alarmed  by  the  reports  of 
the  arms,  were  eagerly  pressing  up  from  the  rear  to  join  their 
comrades.  Unwittingly  he  approached  the  church,  nor  did  he 
awake  from  the  deep  abstraction  into  which  he  had  fallen,  until 
he  was  aroused  by  the  extraordinary  spectacle  of  Job  Pray, 
issuing  from  the  edifice  with  an  air  in  which  menace  was  sin- 
gularly blended  with  resentment  and  fear.  The  changeling 
pointed  earnestly  to  the  body  of  a  man,  who,  having  been 
wounded,  had  crept  for  refuge  near  to  the  door  of  the  temple, 
in  which  he  had  so  often  worshipped  that  Being  to  whom  he 
had  been  thus  hurriedly  sent  to  render  his  last  and  great  ac- 
count, and  said  solemnly — 

"  You  have  killed  one  of  God's  creatures ;  and  he'll  remem- 
ber it !" 

"  I  would  it  were  one  only,"  said  Lionel ;  "  but  they  are 
many,  and  none  can  tell  where  the  carnage  is  to  cease." 

"  Do  you  think,"  said  Job,  looking  furtively  around  to  assure 
himself  that  no  other  overheard  him,  "  that  the  king  can  kill 
men  in  the  Bay  Colony  as  he  can  in  London  ?  They'll  take 
this  up  in  old  Funnel,  and  'twill  ring  again,  from  the  North-End 
to  the  I^eck." 

"  What  can  they  do,  boy,  after  all  said  Lionel,  forgetting  at 
the  moment  that  he  whom  he  addressed  had  been  denied  the 
reason  of  his  kind  ;  "  the  power  of  Britain  is  too  mighty  for 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


133 


these  scattered  and  unprepared  colonies  to  cope  with,  and  pru- 
dence would  tell  the  people  to  desist  from  resistance  while  yet 
they  may." 

"  Does  the  king  believe  there  is  more  prudence  in  London 
than  there  is  in  Boston  ?"  returned  the  simpleton ;  "  he  needn't 
think,  because  the  people  were  quiet  at  the  massacre,  there'll  be 
no  stir  about  this.  You  have  killed  one  of  God's  creatures," 
added  the  lad,  "  and  he'll  remember  it !" 

"  How  came  you  here,  sirrah  ?"  demanded  Lionel,  suddenly 
recollecting  himself ;  "  did  you  not  tell  me  that  you  were  going 
out  to  fish  for  your  mother  ?" 

"  And  if  I  did,"  returned  the  other  sullenly,  "  an't  there  fish 
in  the  ponds  as  well  as  in  the  bay,  and  can't  Nab  have  a  fresh 
taste  ?  Job  don't  know  there  is  any  act  of  Parliament  ag'in 
taking  brook  trout." 

"  Fellow,  you  are  attempting  to  deceive  me !  Some  one  is 
practising  on  your  ignorance,  and  knowing  you  to  be  a  fool,  is 
employing  you  on  errands  that  may  one  day  cost  your  life." 

The  king  can't  send  Job  on  a'r'nds,"  said  the  lad,  proudly ; 
"  for  there  is  no  law  for  it,  and  Job  won't  go." 

"Your  knowledge  will  undo  you,  simpleton.  Who  should 
teach  you  these  niceties  of  the  law 

"  Why,  do  you  think  the  Boston  people  so  dumb  as  not  to 
know  the  law  ?"  asked  Job,  with  unfeigned  astonishment ;  "  and 
Ralph,  too — he  knows  as  much  law  as  the  king ;  he  told  me  it 
was  ag'in  all  law  to  shoot  at  the  minute-men,  unless  they  fired 
first,  because  the  colony  has  a  right  to  train  whenever  it  pleases." 

"Ralph!"  said  Lionel,  eagerly;  "can  Ralph  be  with  you, 
then !  'tis  impossible ;  I  left  him  ill,  and  at  home — neither  would 
he  mingle  in  such  a  business  as  this,  at  his  years." 

"  I  expect  Ralph  has  seen  bigger  armies  than  the  light  in- 
fantry, and  grannies,  and  all  the  soldiers  left  in  town  put  to- 
gether," said  Job,  evasively. 

Lionel  was  far  too  generous  to  practice  on  the  simplicity  of 
his  companion,  with  a  view  to  extract  any  secret  which  might 


134 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


endanger  his  liberty,  but  lie  felt  a  deep  concern  in  tbe  welfare 
of  a  young  man  who  had  been  thrown  in  his  way  in  the  man- 
ner already  related.  He  therefore  pursued  the  subject,  with  the 
double  design  to  advise  Job  against  any  dangerous  connections, 
and  to  relieve  his  own  anxiety  on  the  subject  of  the  aged  stran- 
ger. But  to  all  his  interrogatories  the  lad  answered  guardedly, 
and  with  a  discretion  which  denoted  that  he  possessed  no  small 
share  of  cunning,  though  a  higher  order  of  intellect  had  been 
denied  him. 

"  I  repeat  to  you,"  said  Lionel,  losing  his  patience,  "  that  it  is 
important  for  me  to  meet  the  man  whom  you  call  Kalph  in  the 
country,  and  I  wish  to  know  if  he  is  to  be  seen  near  here." 

"  Ralph  scorns  a  lie,"  returned  Job ;  "  go  where  he  promised 
to  meet  you,  and  see  if  he  don't  come." 

"  But  no  place  was  named ;  and  this  unhappy  event  may 
embarrass  him,  or  frighten  him — " 

"  Frighten  him  !"  repeated  Job,  shaking  his  head  with  solemn 
earnestness ;  "  you  can't  frighten  Ralph  !" 

"  His  daring  may  prove  his  misfortune.  Boy,  I  ask  you  for 
the  last  time  whether  the  old  man — " 

Perceiving  Job  to  shrink  back  timidly,  and  lower  in  his  looks, 
Lionel  paused,  and  casting  a  glance  behind  him,  beheld  the 
captain  of  grenadiers  standing  with  folded  arms,  silently  con- 
templating the  body  of  the  American. 

"  "Will  you  have  the  goodness  to  explain  to  me.  Major  Lin- 
coln," said  the  captain,  when  he  perceived  himself  observed, 
"  why  this  man  lies  here  dead  ?" 

"  You  see  the  wound  in  his  breast  ?" 

"  It  is  a  palpable  and  baistly  truth,  that  he  has  been  shot — 
but  why,  or  with  what  design  ?" 

"  I  must  leave  that  question  to  be  answered  by  our  superiors, 
Captain  M'Fuse,"  returned  Lionel.  "It  is,  however,  rumored 
that  the  expedition  is  out  to  seize  certain  magazines  of  provis- 
ions and  arms  which  the  colonists  have  been  collecting,  it  is 
feared,  with  hostile  intentions." 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


136 


"  I  had  my  own  sagacious  thoughts  that  we  were  bent  on 
some  such  glorious  errand,"  said  M*Fuse,  with  strong  contempt 
expressed  in  his  hard  features.  "Tell  me,  Major  Lincoln — you 
are  certainly  but  a  young  soldier,  though  being  of  the  staff,  you 
should  know — does  Gage  think  we  can  have  a  war  with  the 
arms  and  ammunition  all  on  one  side  ?  We  have  had  a  long 
p'ace,  Major  Lincoln,  and  now,  when  there  is  a  small  prospect 
of  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  our  profession  arising,  we  are 
commanded  to  do  the  very  thing  which  is  most  likely  to  def 'ate 
the  object  of  war." 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  rightly  understand  you,  sir,"  said  Lio 
nel ;  "  there  can  be  but  little  glory  gained  by  such  troops  as  we 
possess,  in  a  contest  with  the  unarmed  and  undisciplined  inhab- 
itants of  any  country." 

"Exactly  my  maining,  sir ;  it  is  quite  obvious  that  we  under- 
stand each  other  thoroughly,  without  a  word  of  circumlocution. 
The  lads  are  doing  very  well  at  present,  and  if  left  to  themselves 
a  few  months  longer,  it  may  become  a  creditable  affair.  You 
know  as  well  as  I  do.  Major  Lincoln,  that  time  is  necessary  to 
make  a  soldier,  and  if  they  are  hurried  into  the  business,  you 
might  as  well  be  chasing  a  mob  up  Ludgate  Hill,  for  the  honor 
you  will  gain.  A  discrate  officer  would  nurse  this  little  matter, 
instead  of  resorting  to  such  precipitation.  To  my  ida'a's,  sir, 
the  man  before  us  has  been  butchered,  and  not  slain  in  honora- 
ble battle !" 

"  There  is  much  reason  to  fear  that  others  may  use  the  same 
term  in  speaking  of  the  affair,"  returned  Lionel :  "  God  knows 
how  much  cause  we  may  have  to  lament  the  death  of  the  poor 
man." 

"  On  that  topic,  the  man  may  be  said  to  have  gone  through 
a  business  that  was  to  be  done,  and  is  not  to  be  done  over 
again,"  said  the  captain,  very  coolly,  "  and  therefore  his  death 
can  be  no  very  great  calamity  to  himself,  whatever  it  may  be  to 
us.  If  these  minute-men — and,  as  they  stand  but  a  minute, 
they  'arn  their  name  like  worthy  fellows — if  these  minute-men, 


136 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


sir,  stood  in  your  way,  you  should  have  whipped  them  from  the 
green  with  your  ramrods." 

"Here  is  one  who  may  tell  you  that  they  are  not  to  be 
treated  like  children  either,"  said  Lionel,  turning  to  the  place 
which  had  been  so  recently  occupied  by  Job  Pray,  but  which, 
to  his  surprise,  he  now  found  vacant.  While  he  was  yet  look- 
ing around  him,  wondering  whither  the  lad  could  so  suddenly 
have  withdrawn,  the  drums  beat  the  signal  to  form,  and  a  gen- 
eral bustle  among  the  soldiery  showed  them  to  be  on  the  eve  of 
further  movements.  The  two  gentlemen  instantly  rejoined  their 
companions,  walking  thoughtfully  towards  the  troops,  though 
influenced  by  such  totally  different  views  of  the  recent  transac- 
tions. 

During  the  short  halt  of  the  advance,  the  whole  detachment 
was  again  united,  and  a  hasty  meal  had  been  taken.  The  as- 
tonishment which  succeeded  the  rencontre  had  given  place, 
among  the  officers,  to  a  military  pride,  capable  of  sustaining 
them  in  much  more  arduous  circumstances.  Even  the  ardent 
looks  of  professional  excitement  were  to  be  seen  in  most  of 
their  countenances,  as  with  glittering  arms,  waving  banners,  and 
timing  their  march  to  the  enlivening  music  of  their  band,  they 
wheeled  from  the  fatal  spot,  and  advanced  again,  with  proud 
and  measured  steps,  along  the  highway.  If  such  was  the  re- 
sult of  the  first  encounter  on  the  lofty  and  tempered  spirits  of 
the  gentlemen  of  the  detachment,  its  effect  on  the  common  hire- 
lings in  the  ranks  was  still  more  palpable  and  revolting.  Their 
coarse  jests,  and  taunting  looks,  as  they  moved  by  the  despised 
victims  of  their  disciplined  skill,  together  with  the  fierce  and 
boastful  expression  of  brutal  triumph,  which  so  many  among 
them  betrayed,  exhibited  the  infallible  evidence,  that,  having 
tasted  of  blood,  they  were  now  ready,  like  tigers,  to  feed  on  it 
till  they  were  glutted. 


LIONfiL  LINCOLJST. 


137 


CHAPTER  X. 

"  There  was  mounting  'mong  Graemes  of  the  Netherby  clan 
Fosters,  Fenwicks,  and  Musgraves,  they  rode  and  they  ran; 
There  was  racing,  and  chasing,  on  Cannobie  Lea. — " 

MA.KMIOX. 

The  j)onip  of  military  parade,  with  whicli  the  troops  marched 
from  the  village  of  Lexington,  as  the  little  hamlet  was  called, 
where  the  foregoing  events  occurred,  soon  settled  again  into  the 
sober  and  business-like  air  of  men  earnestly  bent  on  the  achieve- 
ment of  their  object.  It  was  no  longer  a  secret  that  they  were 
to  proceed  two  leagues  further  into  the  interior,  to  destroy  the 
stores  already  mentioned,  and  which  were  now  known  to  be  col- 
lected at  Concord,  the  town  Avhere  the  Congress  of  Provincial 
Delegates,  who  were  substituted  by  the  colonists  for  the  ancient 
legislatures  of  the  province,  held  their  meetings.  As  the  march 
could  not  now  be  concealed,  it  became  necessary  to  resort  to 
expedition,  in  order  to  insure  its  successful  termination.  The 
veteran  officer  of  marines,  so  often  mentioned,  resumed  his  post 
in  front,  and  at  the  head  of  the  same  companies  of  the  light  corps, 
which  he  had  before  led,  pushed  in  advance  of  the  heavier 
column  of  the  grenadiers.  Polwarth,  by  this  arrangement,  per- 
ceived himself  again  included  among  those  on  whose  swiftness 
of  foot  so  much  depended.  When  Lionel  rejoined  his  friend, 
he  found  him  at  the  head  of  his  men,  marching  with  so  grave 
an  air,  as  at  once  induced  the  major  to  give  him  credit  for  re- 
grets much  more  commendable  than  such  as  were  connected 
with  his  physical  distress.  The  files  were  once  more  opened  for 
room,  as  well  as  for  air,  which  was  becoming  necessary,  as  a  hot 
sun  began  to  dissipate  the  mists  of  the  morning,  and  shed  that 


138 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


enervating  influence  on  the  men,  so  peculiar  to  the  first  warmth 
of  an  American  spring. 

"  This  has  been  a  hasty  business  altogether,  Major  Lincoln," 
said  Polwarth,  as  Lionel  took  his  wonted  station  at  the  side  of 
the  other,  and  dropped  mechanically  into  the  regular  step  of 
the  party — "  I  know  not  that  it  is  quite  as  lawful  to  knock  a 
man'  in  the  head  as  a  bullock." 

"  You  then  agree  with  me  in  thinking  our  attack  hasty,  if  not 
cruel  ?" 

"  Hast}' !  most  unequivocally.  Haste  may  be  called  the  dis- 
tinctive property  of  the  expedition ;  and  whatever  destroys  the 
appetite  of  an  honest  man,  may  be  set  down  as  cruel.  I  have 
not  been  able  to  swallow  a  mouthful  of  breakfast,  Leo.  A 
man  must  have  the  cravings  of  a  hysena,  and  the  stomach  of 
an  ostrich,  to  eat  and  digest  with  such  work  as  this  of  ours  be- 
fore his  eyes." 

"  And  yet  the  men  regard  their  acts  with  triumph !" 

"  The  dogs  are  drilled  into  it.  But  you  saw  how  sober  the 
Provincials  looked  in  the  matter :  we  must  endeavor  to  sooth 
their  feelings  in  the  best  manner  we  can." 

"  Will  they  not  despise  our  consolation  and  apologies,  and 
look  rather  to  themselves  for  redress  and  vengeance  ?" 

Polwarth  smiled  contemptuously,  and  there  was  an  air  of 
pride  about  him  that  gave  an  appearance  of  elasticity  even  to 
his  heavy  tread,  as  he  answered — 

"  The  thing  is  a  bad  thing,  Major  Lincoln,  and,  if  you  will, 
a  wicked  thing  ;  but  take  the  assurance  of  a  man  who  knows 
the  country  well,  there  will  be  no  attempts  at  vengeance  ;  and 
as  for  redress,  in  a  mihtary  way,  the  thing  is  impossible." 

"  You  speak  with  a  confidence,  sir,  that  should  find  its  war- 
ranty in  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  weakness  of  the 
people." 

"  I  have  dwelt  two  years.  Major  Lincoln,  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  country  "  said  Polwarth,  without  turning  his  eyes  from  the 
steady  gaze  he  maintained  on  the  long  road  which  lay  before 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


139 


hiiii^  "  even  three  hundred  miles  beyond  the  inhabited  districts ; 
and  I  should  know  the  character  of  the  nation,  as  well  as  its 
resources.  In  respect  to  the  latter,  there  is  no  esculent  thing 
within  its  borders,  from  a  humming-bird  to  a  buffalo,  or  from 
an  artichoke  to  a  watermelon,  that  I  have  not,  on  some  occa- 
sion or  other,  had  tossed  up,  in  a  certain  way — therefore,  I  can 
speak  with  confidence,  and  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  the  colo- 
nists will  never  fight ;  nor,  if  they  had  the  disposition,  do  they 
possess  the  means  to  maintain  a  war." 

"Perhaps,  sir,"  returned  Lionel  sharply,  "you  have  con- 
sulted the  animals  of  the  country  too  closely  to  be  acquainted 
with  its  spirits  ?" 

"  The  relation  between  them  is  intimate — tell  me  what  food 
a  man  diets  on,  and  I  will  furnish  you  with  his  character.  'Tis 
morally  impossible  that  a  people  who  eat  their  pudding  before 
the  meats,  after  the  fashion  of  these  colonists,  can  ever  make 
good  soldiers,  because  the  appetite  is  appeased  before  the  intro- 
duction of  the  succulent  nutriment  of  the  flesh,  into — " 

"  Enough  !  spare  me  the  remainder,"  interrupted  Lionel ; 
"  too  much  has  been  said  already  to  prove  the  inferiority  of  the 
American  to  the  European  animal,  and  your  reasoning  is  con- 
clusive." 

"  Parliament  must  do  something  for  the  families  of  the  suf- 
ferers." 

"  Parliament !"  echoed  Lionel,  with  bitter  emphasis ;  yes,  we 
shall  be  called  on  to  pass  resolutions  to  commend  the  decision 
of  the  general,  and  the  courage  of  the  troops ;  and  then,  after 
we  have  added  every  possible  insult  to  the  injury,  under  the 
conviction  of  our  imaginary  supremacy,  we  may  hear  of  some 
paltry  sum  to  the  widows  and  orphans  cited  as  an  evidence  of 
the  unbounded  generosity  of  the  nation  !" 

"  The  feeding  of  six  or  seven  broods  of  young  Yankees  is  no 
such  trifle.  Major  Lincoln,"  returned  Polwarth ;  "  and  there  I 
trust  the  unhappy  afiair  will  end.  We  are  now  marching  on 
Concord,  a  place  with  a  most  auspicious  name,  where  we  shal] 


140 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


find  repose  under  its  shadow,  as  well  as  the  food  of  this  home- 
made parliament,  which  they  have  gotten  together.  These  con- 
siderations alone  support  me  under  the  fatigue  of  this  direful 
trot  with  which  old  Pitcairn  goes  over  the  ground — does  the 
man  think  he  is  hunting  with  a  pack  of  beagles  at  his  heels  ?" 

The  opinion  expressed  by  his  companion,  concerning  the 
martial  propensities  of  the  Americans,  was  one  too  common 
among  the  troops  to  excite  any  surprise  in  Lionel ;  but,  dis- 
gusted with  the  illiberality  of  the  sentiment,  and  secretly  of- 
fended at  the  supercilious  manner  with  which  the  other  ex- 
pressed these  injurious  opinions  of  his  countrymen,  he  continued 
his  route  in  silence,  while  Polwarth  speedily  lost  his  loquacious 
propensity  in  a  sense  of  the  fatigue  that  assailed  every  muscle 
and  joint  in  his  body. 

That  severe  training  of  the  corps,  concerning  which  the  cap- 
tain vented  such  frequent  complaints,  now  stood  the  advance  in 
good  service.  It  was  apparent  that  the  whole  country  was  in  a 
state  of  high  alarm,  and  small  bodies  of  armed  men  were  occa- 
sionally seen  on  the  heights  that  flanked  their  route,  though  no 
attempts  were  made  to  revenge  the  deaths  of  those  who  fell  at 
Lexington.  The  march  of  the  troops  was  accelerated  rather 
with  a  belief  that  the  colonists  might  remove,  or  otherwise  se- 
crete the  stores,  than  from  any  apprehension  that  they  would 
dare  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  chosen  troops  of  the  army. 
The  slight  resistance  of  the  Americans  in  the  rencontre  of  that 
morning,  was  already  a  jest  among  the  soldiers,  who  sneeringly 
remaiked,  that  the  term  of  "minute-men"  was  deservedly  ap- 
plied to  warriors  who  had  proved  themselves  so  dexterous  at 
flight.  In  short,  every  opprobrious  and  disrespectful  epithet 
that  contempt  and  ignorance  could  invent,  were  freely  lavished 
on  the  forbearing  mildness  of  the  suffering  colonists.  In  this 
temper  the  troops  reached  a  point  whence  the  modest  spire  and 
roofs  of  Concord  became  visible.  A  small  body  of  the  colonists 
retired  through  the  place  as  the  English  advanced,  and  the  de- 
tachment entered  the  town  without  the  least  resistance,  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


141 


with  the  appearance  of  conquerors.  Lionel  was  not  long  in 
discovering,  from  such  of  the  inhabitants  as  remained,  that, 
notwithstanding  their  approach  had  been  known  for  some  time, 
the  events  of  that  morning  were  yet  a  secret  from  the  people 
of  the  village.  Detachments  from  the  light  corps  were  imme- 
diately sent  in  various  directions ;  some  to  search  for  the  am- 
munition and  provisions,  and  some  to  guard  the  approaches  to 
the  place.  One,  in  particular,  followed  the  retreating  footsteps 
of  the  Americans,  and  took  post  at  a  bridge,  at  some  little  dis- 
tance, which  cut  off  the  communication  with  the  country  to  the 
northward. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  work  of  destruction  was  commenced  in 
the  town,  chiefly  under  the  superintendence  of  the  veteran  officer 
of  the  marines.  The  few  male  inhabitants  who  remained  in 
their  dwellings  were  of  necessity  peaceable,  though  Lionel  could 
read,  in  their  flushed  cheeks  and  gleaming  eyes,  the  secret  in- 
dignation of  men,  who,  accustomed  to  the  protection  of  the 
law,  now  found  themselves  subjected  to  the  insults  and  wanton 
abuses  of  a  military  inroad.  Every  door  was  flung  open,  and 
no  place  was  held  sacred  from  the  rude  scrutiny  of  the  licen- 
tious soldiery.  Taunts  and  execrations  soon  mingled  with  the 
seeming  moderation  with  which  the  search  had  commenced,  and 
loud  exultation  was  betrayed,  even  among  the  officers,  as  the 
scanty  provisions  of  the  colonists  were  gradually  brought  to 
light.  It  was  not  a  moment  to  respect  private  rights,  and  the 
freedom  and  ribaldry  of  the  men  were  on  the  point  of  becoming 
something  more  serious,  when  the  report  of  firearms  was  heard 
suddenly  to  issue  from  the  post  held  by  the  light  infantry,  at 
the  bridge.  A  few  scattering  shot  were  succeeded  by  a  volley, 
which  was  answered  by  another  with  the  quickness  of  lightning, 
and  then  the  air  became  filled  with  the  incessant  rattlino:  of  a 
sharp  conflict.  Every  arm  was  suspended,  and  each  tongue 
became  mute  with  astonishment,  and  the  men  abandoned  their 
occupations  as  these  unexpected  sounds  of  war  broke  on  their 
ears.    The  chiefs  of  the  party  were  seen  in  consultation,  and 


142 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


horsemen  rode  furiously  into  the  place,  to  communicate  the 
nature  of  this  new  conflict.  The  rank  of  Major  Lincoln  soon 
obtained  for  him  a  knowledge  that  it  was  thought  impolitic  to 
communicate  to  the  whole  detachment.  Notwithstanding  it 
was  apparent  that  they  who  brought  the  intelligence  were 
anxious  to  give  it  the  most  favorable  aspect,  he  soon  discovered 
that  the  same  body  of  Americans,  which  had  retired  at  their 
approach,  having  attempted  to  return  to  their  homes  in  the 
town,  had  been  fired  on  at  the  bridge,  and  in  the  skirmish  which 
succeeded,  the  troops  had  been  compelled  to  give  way  with 
loss.  The  effect  of  this  prompt  and  spirited  conduct  ,on  the 
part  of  the  provincials  produced  a  sudden  alteration,  not  only 
in  the  aspect,  but  also  in  the  proceedings  of  the  troops.  The 
detachments  were  recalled,  and  the  drums  beat  to  arms ; .  and, 
for  the  first  time,  both  officers  and  men  seemed  to  recollect  that 
the}'  had  six  leagues  to  march  through  a  country  that  hardly 
contained  a  friend.  Still  few  or  no  enemies  were  visible,  with 
the  exception  of  those  men  of  Concord,  who  had  already  drawn 
blood  freely  from  the  invaders  of  their  domestic  sanctuaries. 
The  dead,  and  all  the  common  wounded,  were  left  where  they 
had  fallen ;  and  it  was  thought  an  unfavorable  omen  among 
the  observant  of  the  detachment,  that  a  wounded  young  subal- 
tern, of  rank  and  fortune,  was  also  abandoned  to  the  mercy  of 
the  exasperated  Americans.  The  privates  caught  the  infection 
from  their  officers,  and  Lionel  saw,  that  in  place  of  the  high  and 
insulting  confidence  with  which  the  troops  had  wheeled  into 
the  streets  of  Concord,  that  they  left  them,  when  the  order  was 
given  to  march,  with  faces  bent  anxiously  on  the  surrounding 
heights,  and  with  looks  that  bespoke  a  consciousness  of  the 
dangers  that  were  likely  to  beset  the  long  road  which  lay  before 
them. 

Their  apprehensions  Vere  not  groundless.  The  troops  had 
hardly  commenced  their  march  before  a  volley  was  fired  upon 
them  from  the  protection  of  a  barn,  and  as  they  advanced,  vol- 
ley succeeded  volley,  and  musket  answered  musket  from  behind 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


143 


every  cover  that  offered  to  their  assailants.  At  first  tliese  de- 
sultory and  feeble  attacks  were  but  little  regarded ;  a  brisk 
charge,  and  a  smart  fire  of  a  few  moments  never  failed  to  dis- 
perse their  enemies,  when  the  troops  again  proceeded  for  a  short 
distance  unmolested.  But  the  alarm  of  the  preceding  night 
had  gathered  the  people  over  an  immense  extent  of  country ; 
and,  having  waited  for  information,  those  nearest  to  the  scene  of 
action  were  already  pressing  forv/ard  to  the  assistance  of  their 
friends.  There  was  but  little  order,  and  no  concert  among  the 
Americans ;  but  each  party,  as  it  arrived,  pushed  into  the  fray, 
hanging  on  the  skirts  of  their  enemies,  or  making  spirited, 
though  inelfectual  efforts  to  stop  their  progress.  While  the 
men  from  the  towns  behind  them  pressed  upon  their  rear,  the 
population  in  their  front  accumulated  in  bodies,  like  a  rolling 
ball  of  snow,  and  before  half  the  distance  between  Concord  and 
Lexington  was  accomplished,  Lionel  perceived  that  the  safety  of 
their  boasted  power  was  in  extreme  jeopardy.  During  the  first 
hour  of  these  attacks,  while  they  were  yet  distant,  desultory, 
and  feeble,  the  young  soldier  had  marched  by  the  side  of  M'Fuse, 
who  shook  his  head  disdainfully  whenever  a  shot  whistled  near 
him,  and  did  not  fail  to  comment  freely  on  the  folly  of  com- 
mencing a  war  thus  prematurely,  which,  if  properly  nursed, 
might,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  be  in  time  brought  to  some- 
thing pretty  and  interesting." 

"  You  perceive.  Major  Lincoln,"  he  added,  "  that  these  pro- 
vincials have  got  the  first  elements  of  the  art,  for  the  rascals 
fire  with  exceeding  accuracy,  when  the  distance  is  considered ; 
and  six  months  or  a  year  of  close  drilHng  would  make  them 
good  for  something  in  a  regular  charge.  They  have  got  a 
smart  crack  to  their  p'aces,  and  a  pretty  whiz  to  their  lead  al- 
ready ;  if  they  could  but  learn  to  deliver  their  fire  in  platoons, 
the  lads  might  make  some  impression  on  the  light  infantry  even 
now ;  and  in  a  year  or  two,  sir,  they  would  not  be  unworthy  of 
the  favors  of  the  grenadiers." 

Lionellistened  to  this,  and  much  other  similar  discourse,  with 


144 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


a  vacaat  ear;  but  as  tlie  combat  thickened,  the  blood  of  the 
young  man  began  to  course  more  swiftly  through  his  veins ; 
and  at  length,  excited  by  the  noise  and  the  danger  which  was 
pressing  more  closely  around  them,  he  mounted,  and,  riding  to 
the  commander  of  the  detachment,  tendered  his  assistance  as  a 
volunteer  aid,  having  lost  every  other  sensation  in  youthful 
blood,  and  the  pride  of  arms.  He  was  immediately  charged 
with  orders  for  the  advance,  and  driving  his  spurs  into  his  steed, 
he  dashed  through  the  scattered  line  of  fighting  and  jaded 
troops,  and  galloped  to  its  head.  Here  he  found  several  com- 
panies, diligently  employed  in  clearing  the  way  for  their  com- 
rades, as  new  foes  appeared  at  every  few  rods  that  they  ad- 
vanced. Even  as  Lionel  approached,  a  heavy  sheet  of  fire 
flashed  from  a  close  barn-yard,  full  in  the  faces  of  the  leading 
files,  sending  the  swift  engines  of  death  into  the  very  centre  of 
the  party. 

"  Wheel  a  company  of  the  light  infantry.  Captain  Polwarth," 
cried  the  old  major  of  marines,  who  battled  stoutly  in  the  van, 
"  and  drive  the  skulking  scoundrels  from  their  ambush." 

"  Oh !  by  the  sweets  of  ease,  and  the  hopes  of  a  halt !  but 
here  is  another  tribe  of  these  white  savages !"  responded  the  un- 
fortunate captain — "  Look  out,  my  brave  men !  blaze  away  over 
the  walls  on  your  left — give  no  quarter  to  the  annoying  rascals 
— get  the  first  shot — give  them  a  foot  of  your  steel." 

While  venting  such  terrible  denunciations  and  commands, 
which  were  drawn  from  the  peaceable  captain  by  the  force  of 
circumstances,  Lionel  beheld  his  friend  disappear  amid  the 
buildings  of  the  farm-yard  in  a  cloud  of  smoke,  followed  by  his 
troops.  In  a  few  minutes  afterwards,  as  the  line  toiled  its  way 
up  the  hill  on  which  this  scene  occurred,  Polwarth  reappeared, 
issuing  from  the  fray  with  his  face  blackened  and  grimmed 
with  powder,  while  a  sheet  of  flame  arose  from  the  spot,  which 
soon  laid  the  devoted  buildings  of  the  unfortunate  husbandman 
ill  ruins. 

"  Ha  I  Major  Lincoln,"  he  cried,  as  he  approached  the  other, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


146 


"  do  you  call  these  light-infantry  movements !  to  me  they 
are  the  torments  of  the  damned ! — Go,  you  who  have  influ- 
ence, and,  what  is  better,  a  horse,  go  to  Smith,  and  tell  him 
if  he  will  call  a  halt,  I  will  engage,  with  my  single  company,  to 
seat  ourselves  in  any  field  he  may  select,  and  keep  these  blood- 
suckers at  bay  for  an  hour,  while  the  detachment  can  rest  and 
satisfy  their  hunger — trusting  that  he  will  then  allow  time  for 
his  defenders  to  perform  the  same  necessary  operations.  A 
night-march — no  breakfast — a  burning  sun — mile  after  mile — no 
halt,  and  nothing  but  fire — fire — 'tis  opposed  to  every  principle 
in  physics,  and  even  to  the  anatomy  of  man,  to  think  he  can 
endure  it !" 

Lionel  endeavored  to  encourage  his  friend  to  new  exertions, 
and,  turning  away  from  their  leader,  spoke  cheeringly,  and  with 
a  martial  tone,  to  his  troops.  The  men  cheered  as  they  passed, 
and  dashed  forward  to  new  encounters ;  the  Americans  yield- 
ing sullenly,  but  necessarily,  to  the  constant  charges  of  the 
bayonet,  to  which  the  regulars  resorted  to  dislodge  them.  As 
the  advance  moved  on  again,  Lionel  turned  to  contemplate  the 
scene  in  the  rear.  They  had  now  been  marching  and  fighting 
for  two  hours  with  little  or  no  cessation ;  and  it  was  but  too 
evident  that  the  force  of  the  assailants  was  increasing,  both  in 
numbers  and  in  daring  at  each  step  they  took.  On  either  side 
of  the  highway,  along  the  skirts  of  every  wood  or  orchard,  in 
the  open  fields,  and  from  every  house,  barn,  or  cover  in  sight, 
the  flash  of  firearms  was  to  be  seen,  while  the  shouts  of  the 
English  grew,  at  each  instant,  feebler  and  less  inspiriting.  Heavy 
clouds  of  smoke  rose  above  the  valley  into  which  he  looked, 
and  mingled  with  the  dust  of  the  march,  drawing  an  impene- 
trable veil  before  the  view ;  but  as  the  wind,  at  moments,  shoved 
it  aside,  he  caught  glimpses  of  the  worried  and  faltering  platoons 
of  the  party,  sometimes  breasting  and  repulsing  an  attack  with 
spirit,  and  at  others  shrinking  from  the  contest,  with  an  ill- 
concealed  desire  to  urge  their  retreat  to  the  verge  of  an  abso- 
lute flight.    Young  as  he  was.  Major  Lincoln  knew  enough  of. 

7 


148 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


his  profession  to  understand  that  nothing  but  the  want  of  con 
cert,  and  of  a  unity  of  command  among  the  Americans,  saved  the 
detachment  from  total  destruction.  The  attacks  were  growing 
extremely  spirited,  and  not  unfrequently  close  and  bloody 
though  the  discipline  of  the  troops  enabled  them  still  to  beai 
up  against  this  desultory  and  divided  warfare,  when  Lionel 
heard,  with  a  pleasure  he  could  not  conceal,  the  loud  shouts 
that  arose  from  the  van,  as  the  cheering  intelligence  was  pro- 
claimed through  the  ranks,  that  the  cloud  of  dust  in  their  front 
was  raised  by  a  chosen  brigade  of  their  comrades,  which  had 
come  most  timely  to  their  succor,  with  the  heir  of  Northumber- 
land at  its  head.  The  Americans  gave  way  as  the  two  detach- 
ments joined,  and  the  artillery  of  the  succors  opened  upon  their 
flying  parties,  giving  a  few  minutes  of  stolen  rest  to  those  who 
needed  it  so  much.  Polwarth  threw  himself  flat  on  the  earth, 
as  Lionel  dismounted  at  his  side,  and  his  example  was  followed 
by  the  whole  party,  who  lay  panting,  under  the  heat  and  fatigue, 
like  worried  deer,  that  had  succeeded  in  throwing  the  hounds 
from  their  scent. 

"  As  I  am  a  gentleman  of  simple  habits,  and  a  man  innocent 
of  all  this  bloodshed,  Major  Lincoln,"  said  the  captain,  "  I  pro- 
nounce this  march  to  be  a  most  unjust  draft  on  the  resources  of 
human  nature.  I  have  journeyed  at  least  five  leagues  between 
this  spot  and  that  place  of  discord  that  they  falsely  call  Con- 
cord, within  two  hours,  amidst  dust,  smoke,  groans,  and  other 
infernal  cries,  that  would  cause  the  best-trained  racer  in  England 
to  bolt ;  and  breathing  an  air,  all  the  time,  that  would  boil  an 
egg  in  two  minutes  and  a  quarter,  if  fairly  exposed  to  it." 

"  You  overrate  the  distance — 'tis  but  two  leagues  by  the 
stones — " 

"  Stones  !"  interrupted  Polwarth.  "  I  scorn  their  lies  :  I  have 
h  leg  here  that  is  a  better  index  for  miles,  feet,  or  even  inches, 
than  was  ever  chiselled  in  stone." 

"  We  must  not  contest  this  idle  point,"  returned  Lionel, 
"  for  I  see  the  troops  are  about  to  dine ;  and  we  have  need 


LIOIFiSL  LINCOLN. 


147 


of  every  moment  to  reach  Boston  before  the  night  doses 
around  us." 

"  Eat ! — Boston  ! — night !"  slowly  repeated  Polwarth,  raising 
himself  on  one  arm,  and  staring  wildly  about  him.  Surely 
no  man  among  us  is  so  mad  as  to  talk  of  moving  from  this  spot 
short  of  a  week :  it  would  take  half  that  time  to  receive  the 
internal  refreshment  necessary  to  our  systems,  and  the  remain- 
der to  restore  us  healthy  appetites." 

"  Such,  however,  are  the  orders  of  the  Earl  Percy,  from  whom 
I  loam  that  the  whole  country  is  rising  in  our  front." 

"  Ay,  but  they  are  fellows  who  slept  peacefully  in  their  beds 
the  past  night ;  and  I  dare  say  that  every  dog  among  them  ate 
his  half  pound  of  pork,  together  with  additions  suitable  for  a 
breakfast,  before  he  crossed  his  threshold  this  morning.  But 
with  us  the  case  is  different.  It  is  incumbent  on  two  thousand 
British  troops  to  move  with  deliberation,  if  it  should  be  only  for 
the  credit  of  his  majesty's  arms.  No,  no — the  gallant  Percy  too 
highly  respects  his  princely  lineage  and  name,  to  assume  the 
appearance  of  flight  before  a  mob  of  base-born  hinds  !" 

The  intelligence  of  Lionel  was  nevertheless  true  ;  for,  after  a 
short  halt,  allowing  barely  time  enough  to  the  troops  to  eat  a 
hasty  meal,  the  drums  again  beat  the  signal  to  march,  and  Pol- 
warth, as  well  as  many  hundred  others,  was  reluctantly  com- 
pelled to  resume  his  feet,  under  the  penalty  of  being  abandoned 
to  the  fury  of  the  exasperated  Americans.  While  the  troops 
were  in  a  state  of  rest,  the  field-pieces  of  the  reinforcement 
kept  their  foes  at  a  distance ;  but  the  instant  the  guns  were 
limbered,  and  the  files  had  once  more  opened  for  room,  the 
attacks  were  renewed  from  every  quarter,  with  redoubled  fury. 
The  excesses  of  the  troops,  who  had  begun  to  vent  their  anger 
by  plundering  and  firing  the  dwellings  that  they  passed,  added 
to  the  bitterness  of  the  attacks ;  and  the  march  had  not  been 
renewed  many  minutes,  before  a  fiercer  conflict  raged  along  its 
skirts  than  had  been  before  witnessed  on  that  day. 

"  Would  to  God  that  the  ^reat  Northumbrian  would  form  us' 


148 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


in  order  of  battle,  and  make  a  fair  field  with  tlie  Yankees!" 
groaned  Polwartli,  as  he  toiled  his  way  once  more  with  the  ad- 
vance. "  Half  an  hour  would  settle  the  matter,  and  a  man 
v/ould  then  possess  the  gratification  of  seeing  himself  a  victor, 
or  at  least  of  knowing  that  he  was  comfortably  and  quietly 
dead." 

"  Few  of  us  would  ever  arrive  in  the  morning,  if  we  left  the 
Americans  a  night  to  gather  in  ;  and  a  halt  of  an  hour  would 
lose  us  the  advantages  of  the  whole  march,"  returned  Lionel. 
"  Cheer  up,  my  old  comrade,  and  you  will  establish  your  repu- 
tation for  activity  forever.  Here  comes  a  party  of  the  provin- 
cials over  the  crest  of  the  hill  to  keep  you  in  employment." 

Polwartli  cast  a  look  of  despair  at  Lionel,  as  he  muttered  in 
reply— 

"  Employment !  God  knows  that  there  has  not  been  a  sin- 
gle muscle,  sinew,  or  joint  in  my  body  in  a  state  of  wholesome 
rest  for  four-and-twenty  hours  !"  Then  turning  to  his  men,  he 
cried,  with  tones  so  cheerful  and  animated,  that  they  seemed  to 
proceed  from  a  final  and  closing  exertion,  as  he  led  them  gal- 
lantly into  the  approaching  fray — "  Scatter  the  dogs,  my  brave 
friends !  Away  with  them  like  gnats,  like  mosquitoes,  like 
leeches,  as  they  are  !  Give  it  them — lead  and  steel  by  hands- 
ful— " 

"  On — push  on  with  the  advance  !"  shouted  the  old  major  of 
marines,  who  observed  the  leading  platoons  to  stagger. 

The  voice  of  Polwarth  was  once  more  heard  in  the  din, 
and  their  irregular  assailants  sullenly  yielded  before  the 
charge. 

"  On — on  with  the  advance  !"  cried  fifty  voices  out  of  a  cloud 
of  smoke  and  dust  that  was  moving  up  the  hill,  on  whose  side 
this  encounter  occurred. 

In  this  manner  the  war  continued  to  roll  slowly  onward,  fol- 
lowing the  weary  and  heavy  footsteps  of  the  soldiery,  who  had 
now  toiled  for  many  miles,  surrounded  by  the  din  of  battle,  and 
leaving  in  their  path  the  bloody  impressions  of  their  footsteps/ 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


149 


Lionel  was  enabled  to  trace  tlieir  route,  far  towards  the  north, 
by  the  bright  red  spots  which  lay  scattered  in  alarming  num- 
bers aloDg  the  highway,  and  in  the  fields,  through  which  the 
troops  occasionally  moved.  He  even  found  time,  in  the  inter- 
vals of  rest,  to  note  the  difference  in  the  characters  of  the  com- 
batants. AVhenever  the  ground  or  the  circumstances  admitted 
of  a  regular  attack,  the  dying  confidence  of  the  troops  would 
seem  restored ;  and  they  moved  up  to  the  charge  with  the 
bold  carriage  which  high  discipline  inspires,  rending  the  air 
with  shouts,  while  their  enemies  melted  before  their  power  in 
sullen  silence,  never  ceasing  to  use  their  weapons,  however,  with 
an  expertness  that  rendered  them  doubly  dangerous.  The  di- 
rection of  the  columns  frequently  brought  the  troops  orer 
ground  that  had  been  sharply  contested  in  front,  and  the  vic- 
tims of  these  short  struggles  came  under  the  eyes  of  the  detach- 
ment. It  was  necessary  to  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  cries  and 
prayers  of  many  wounded  soldiers,  who,  with  horror  and  abject 
fear  written  on  every  feature  of  their  countenances,  were  the 
helpless  witnesses  of  the  retreating  files  of  their  comrades.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  American  lay  in  his  blood,  regarding  the 
passing  detachment  with  a  stern  and  indignant  eye,  that  ap- 
peared to  look  far  beyond  his  individual  sufi'ering.  Over  one 
body,  Lionel  pulled  the  reins  of  his  horse,  and  he  paused  a  mo- 
ment to  consider  the  spectacle.  It  was  the  lifeless  form  of  a 
man,  whose  white  locks,  hollow  cheeks,  and  emaciated  frame, 
denoted  that  the  bullet  which  had  stricken  him  to  the  earth 
had  anticipated  the  irresistible  decrees  of  time  but  a  very  few 
days.  He  had  fallen  on  his  back,  and  his  glazed  eye  expressed, 
even  in  death,  the  honest  resentment  he  had  felt  while  living  ; 
and  his  palsied  hand  continued  to  grasp  the  firelock,  old  and 
time-worn,  like  its  owner,  with  which  he  had  taken  the  field  in 
behalf  of  his  country. 

"  Where  can  a  contest  end  which  calls  such  champions  to  its 
aid  1"  exclaimed  Lionel,  observing  that  the  shadow  of  another 
spectator  fell  across  the  wan  features  of  the  dead ;  "  who  can 


150 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


tell  where  this  torrent  of  blood  can  be  stayed,  or  bow  many  are 
to  be  its  victims  1" 

Receiving  no  answer,  be  raised  bis  eyes,  and  discovered  tbat 
be  bad  unv/ittingly  put  tbis  searching  question  to  tbe  very  man 
whose  rashness  bad  precipitated  tbe  war.  It  was  tbe  major  of 
marines,  who  sat  looking  at  tbe  sight,  for  a  minute,  with  an  eye 
as  vacant  as  the  one  tbat  seemed  to  throw  back  his  wild  gaze, 
and  then,  rousing  from  bis  trance,  he  buried  bis  rowels  in  tbe 
flanks  of  bis  horse,  and  disappeared  in  tbe  smoke  tbat  enveloped 
a  body  of  the  grenadiers,  waving  bis  sword  on  high,  and 
shouting — - 

"  On — push  on  with  the  advance  !" 

Major  Lincoln  slowly  followed,  musing  on  the  scene  he  bad 
witnessed,  when,  to  bis  surprise,  be  encountered  Polwartb, 
seated  on  a  rock  by  tbe  roadside,  looking  with  a  listless  and  dull 
eye  at  the  retreating  columns.  Checking  his  charger,  he  in- 
quired of  bis  friend  if  be  was  hurt. 

"  Only  melted,"  returned  the  captain  :  "  I  have  outdone  tbe 
speed  of  man  this  day.  Major  Lincoln,  and  can  do  no  more.  If 
you  see  any  of  my  friends  in  dear  England,  tell  them  that  I  met 
my  fate  as  a  soldier  should,  stationary ;  though  I  am  actually 
melting  away  in  rivulets,  like  tbe  snows  of  April." 

"  Good  God !  you  will  not  remain  here  to  be  slain  by  the 
provincials,  by  whom  you  see  we  are  completely  enveloped 

"  I  am  preparing  a  speech  for  the  first  Yankee  who  may  ap- 
proach. If  he  be  a  true  man,  he  will  melt  into  tears  at  my  suf- 
ferings this  day — if  a  savage,  my  heirs  will  be  spared  tbe  chai'ges 
of  my  funeral  1" 

Lionel  would  have  continued  his  remonstrances,  but  a  fierce 
encounter  between  a  flanking  party  of  the  troops  and  a  body  of 
Americans,  drove  the  former  close  upon  him  ;  and,  leaping  the 
wall,  be  rallied  bis  comrades,  and  turned  the  tide  of  battle  in 
their  favor.  He  was  drawn  far  from  tbe  spot  by  tbe  vicissitudes 
of  the  combat,  and  there  was  a  moment,  while  passing  from  one 
body  of  the  troops  to  another,  tbat  be  found  himself  unexpect- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


151 


edly  alone,  in  a  most  dangerous  vicinity  to  a  small  wood.  The 
hurried  call  of  "  Pick  off  that  officer !"  first  aroused  him  to  his 
extreme  danger,  and  he  had  mechanically  bowed  himself  on  the 
neck  of  his  charger,  in  expectation  of  the  fatal  messengers,  when 
a  voice  was  heard  among  the  Americans,  crying,  in  tones  that 
•:iau3ed  every  nerve  in  his  body  to  thrill — 

"  Spare  him !  for  the  love  of  that  God  you  worship,  spare 
him !" 

The  overwhelming  sensations  of  the  moment  prevented  flight, 
and  the  young  man  beheld  Ralph,  running  with  frantic  gestures, 
along  the  skirts  of  the  cover,  beating  up  the  firearms  of  twenty 
Americans,  and  repeating  his  cries  in  a  voice  that  did  not  seem 
to  belong  to  a  human  being:  then,  in  the  confusion  which 
whirled  through  his  brain,  Lionel  thought  himself  a  prisoner,  as 
a  man,  armed  with  a  long  rifle,  glided  from  the  wood,  and  laid 
his  hand  on  the  rein  of  his  bridle,  saying  earnestly — 

"  'Tis  a  bloody  day,  and  God  will  remember  it ;  but  if  Major 
Lincoln  will  ride  straight  down  the  hill,  the  people  won't  fire  for 
fear  of  hitting  Job  ;  and  when  Job  fires,  he'll  shoot  that  granny 
who's  getting  over  the  wall,  and  there'll  never  be  a  stir  about  it 
in  Funnel  Hall." 

Lionel  wheeled  away  quicker  than  thought,  and  as  his  charger 
took  long  and  desperate  leaps  down  the  slight  declivity,  he 
heard  the  shouts  of  the  Americans  behind  him,  the  crack  of 
Job's  rifle,  and  the  whizzing  of  the  bullet  which  the  changeling 
sent,  as  he  had  promised,  in  a  ditection  to  do  him  no  harm. 
On  gaining  a  place  of  comparative  safety,  he  found  Pitcairn  in 
the  act  of  abandoning  his  bleeding  horse,  the  close  and  bitter 
attacks  of  the  provincials  rendering  it  no  longer  safe  for  an  offi- 
cer to  be  seen  riding  on  the  flanks  of  the  detachment.  Lionel, 
though  he  valued  his  steed  highly,  had  also  received  so  many 
Intimations  of  the  dangerous  notice  he  had  attracted,  that  he 
was  soon  obhged  to  follow  this  example ;  and  he  saw,  with  deep 
regret,  the  noble  animal  scouring  across  the  fields  with  a  loose 
rein,  snorting  and  snuffing  the  tainted  air.    He  now  joined  a 


152 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


party  of  the  combatants  on  foot,  and  continued  to  animate  iliem 
to  new  exertions  during  the  remainder  of  the  tedious  way. 

From  the  moment  the  spires  of  Boston  met  the  view  of  the 
troops,  the  struggle  became  intensely  interesting.  New  vigor 
was  imparted  to  their  weary  frames  by  the  cheering  sight,  and, 
assuming  once  more  the  air  of  high  martial  training,  they  bore 
up  against  the  assaults  of  their  enemies  with  renewed  spirit. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Americans  seemed  aware  that  the  mo- 
ments of  vengeance  were  passing  swiftly  away,  and  boys,  and 
gray-headed  men,  the  wounded  and  the  active,  crowded  around 
their  invaders,  as  if  eager  to  obtain  a  parting  blow.  Even  the 
peaceful  ministers  of  God  were  known  to  take  the  field  on  that 
memorable  occasion,  and,  mingling  with  their  parishioners,  to 
brave  every  danger  in  a  cause  which  they  believed  in  consonance 
with  their  holy  calling.  The  sun  was  sinking  over  the  land, 
and  the  situation  of  the  detachment  had  become  nearly  desper- 
ate, when  Percy  abandoned  the  idea  of  reaching  the  JSTeck, 
across  which  he  had  proudly  marched  that  morning  from  Bos- 
ton, and  strained  every  nerve  to  get  the  remainder  of  his  com- 
mand within  the  peninsula  of  Charlestown.  The  crests  and  the 
sides  of  the  heights  were  alive  with  men,  and  as  the  shades  of 
evening  closed  about  the  combatants,  the  bosoms  of  the  Ameri- 
cans beat  high  with  hope,  while  they  witnessed  the  faltering  steps 
and  slackened  fire  of  the  troops.  But  high  discipline  finally  so 
far  prevailed  as  to  snatch  the  English  from  the  very  grasp  of 
destruction,  and  enabled  them  to  gain  the  narrow  entrance  to 
the  desired  shelter  just  as  night  had  come  apparently  to  seal 
their  doom. 

Lionel  stood  leaning  against  a  fence,  as  this  fine  body  of  men, 
which  a  few  hours  before  had  thought  themselves  equal  to  a 
march  through  the  colonies,  defiled  slowly  and  heavily  by  him, 
dragging  their  weary  and  exhausted  limbs  up  the  toilsome 
ascent  of  Bunker  Hill.  The  haughty  eyes  of  most  of  the  ofiicers 
were  bent  to  the  earth  in  shame,  and  the  common  herd,  even  in 
that  place  of  security,  cast  many  an  anxious  glance  behind  them, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


153 


to  assure  themselves  that  the  despised  inhabitants  of  the  province 
were  no  longer  pressing  on  their  footsteps.  Platoon  after  pla- 
toon passed,  each  man  compelled  to  depend  on  his  own  wearied 
limbs  for  support,  until  Lionel  at  last  saw  a  solitary  horseman 
slowly  ascending  among  the  crowd.  To  his  utter  amazement 
and  great  joy,  as  this  officer  approached,  he  beheld  Polwarth, 
mounted  on  his  own  steed,  riding  towards  him,  with  a  face  of 
the  utmost  complacency  and  composure.  The  dress  of  the  cap- 
tain was  torn  in  many  places,  and  the  housings  of  the  saddle 
were  cut  into  ribands,  while  here  and  there  a  spot  of  clotted 
blood,  on  the  sides  of  the  beast,  served  to  announce  the  particu- 
lar notice  the  rider  had  received  from  the  Americans.  The 
truth  was  soon  extorted  from  the  honest  soldier.  The  love  of 
life  had  returned  with  the  sight  of  the  abandoned  charger.  He 
acknowledged  it  had  cost  him  his  watch  to  have  the  beast 
caught ;  but,  once  established  in  the  saddle,  no  danger,  nor  any 
remonstrances,  could  induce  him  to  relinquish  a  seat  which  he 
found  so  consoling  after  all  the  fatigue  and  motion  of  that  evil 
day,  in  which  he  had  been  compelled  to  share  in  the  calamities 
of  those  who  fought  on  the  side  of  the  crown,  in  the  memorable 
battle  of  Lexin2*ton. 


154 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XL 

"  Fluel. — Is  it  not  lawful,  an'  please  your  majesty, 
To  tell  how  many  is  killed  King  Henry  V. 

While  a  strong  party  of  the  royal  troops  took  post  on  the 
height  which  commanded  the  approach  to  their  position,  the 
remainder  penetrated  deeper  into  the  peninsula,  or  were  trans- 
ported by  the  boats  of  the  fleet  to  the  town  of  Boston.  Lionel 
and  Polwarth  passed  the  strait  with  the  first  division  of  the 
wounded,  the  former  having  no  duty  to  detain  him  any  longer 
with  the  detachment,  and  the  latter  stoutly  maintaining  that  his 
corporeal  sufferings  gave  him  an  undoubted  claim  to  include  his 
case  among  the  casualties  of  the  day.  Perhaps  no  officer  in  the 
army  of  the  king  felt  less  chagrin  at  the  result  of  this  inroad 
than  Major  Lincoln ;  for,  notwithstanding  his  attachment  to  his 
prince  and  adopted  country,  he  was  keenly  sensitive  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  reputation  of  his  real  countrymen :  a  sentiment  that 
is  honorable  to  our  nature,  and  which  never  deserts  any  that  do 
not  become  disloyal  to  its  purest  and  noblest  impulses.  Even 
while  he  regretted  the  price  at  which  his  comrades  had  been 
taught  to  appreciate  the  characters  of  those  whose  long  and 
mild  forbearance  had  been  misconstrued  into  pusillanimity,  he 
rejoiced  that  the  eyes  of  the  more  aged  would  now  be  opened 
to  the  truth,  and  that  the  mouths  of  the  young  and  thoughtless 
were  to  be  forever  closed  in  shame.  Although  the  actual 
losses  of  the  two  detachments  were  probably  concealed  from 
,  motives  of  policy,  it  was  early  acknowledged  to  amount  to  about 
one  sixth  of  the  whole  number  employed. 

On  the  wharf,  Lionel  and  Polwarth  separated ;  the  latter 
agreeing  to  repair  speedily  to  the  private  quarters  of  his  friend, 
where  he  promised  himself  a  solace  for  the  compulsory  absti- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


165 


uence  and  privations  of  his  long  march,  and  the  former  taking 
his  way  towards  Tremont-street,  with  a  view  to  allay  the  unea- 
siness which  the  secret  and  flattering  whisperings  of  hope 
taught  him  to  believe  his  fair  young  kinswcunen  would  feel  in 
his  behalf.  At  every  corner  he  encountered  groups  of  earnest 
townsmen,  listening  with  greedy  ears  to  the  particulars  of  the 
contest,  a  few  w^alking  away  dejected  at  the  spirit  exhibited  by 
that  country  they  had  vilified  to  its  oppressors ;  but  most  of 
them  regarding  the  passing  form  of  one  whose  disordered  dress 
announced  his  participation  in  the  affair,  with  glances  of  stern 
satisfaction.  As  Lionel  tapped  at  the  door  of  Mrs.  Lechmere, 
he  forgot  his  fatigue  ;  and  when  it  opened,  and  he  beheld  Cecil 
standing  in  the  hall,  with  every  lineament  of  her  fine  counte- 
nance expressing  the  power  of  her  emotions,  he  no  longer  re- 
membered those  trying  dangers  he  had  so  lately  escaped. 

"  Lionel !"  exclaimed  the  young  lady,  clasping  her  hands 
with  joy — "  himself,  and  unhurt !"  The  blood  rushed  from 
her  heart  across  her  face  to  her  forehead,  and  burying  her 
shame  in  her  hands,  she  burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  and  fled  his 
presence. 

Agnes  Danforth  received  him  with  undisguised  pleasure,  nor 
would  she  indulge  in  a  single  question  to  appease  her  burning 
curiosity,  until  thoroughly  assured  of  his  perfect  safety.  Then, 
indeed,  she  remarked,  with  a  smile  of  triumph  seated  on  her 
arch  features — 

"  Your  march  has  been  well  attended.  Major  Lincoln  ;  from 
the  upper  windows  I  have  seen  some  of  the  honors  which  tho 
good  people  of  Massachusetts  have  paid  to  their  visitors." 

On  my  soul,  if  it  were  not  for  the  dreadful  consequences 
which  must  follow,  I  rejoice,  as  well  as  yourself,' in  the  events 
of  the  day,"  said  Lincoln  ;  "  for  a  people  are  never  certain  of 
their  rights  until  they  are  respected." 

"  Tell  me,  then,  all,  cousin  Lincoln,  that  I  may  know  how  to 
boast  of  my  parentage." 

The  young  man  gave  her  a  short,  but  distinct  and  impartial, 


ioG 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


account  of  all  that  had  occurred,  to  which  his  fair  listener  at- 
tended with  undisguised  interest. 

"  Now,  then,"  she  exclaimed,  as  he  ended,  "  there  is  an  end 
forever  of  those  biting  taunts  that  have  so  long  insulted  our 
ears  !  But  you  know,"  she  added,  with  a  slight  blush,  and  a 
smile  most  comically  arch,  "  I  had  a  double  stake  in  the  for- 
tunes of  the  day — my  country  and  my  true  love  !" 

"  Oh  !  be  at  ease  ;  your  worshipper  has  returned,  whole  in 
body,  and  suffering  in  mind  only  through  your  cruelty  :  he  per- 
formed the  route  with  wonderful  address,  and  really  showed 
himself  a  soldier  in  danger." 

"  Nay,  Major  Lincoln,"  returned  Agnes,  still  blushing,  though 
she  laughed ;  "  you  do  not  mean  to  insinuate  that  Peter  Pol- 
warth  has  walked  forty  miles  between  the  rising  and  setting  of 
the  sun  ?" 

"  Between  two  sunsets  he  has  done  the  deed,  if  you  except  a 
trifling  promenade  a  cheval^  on  my  own  steed,  whom  Jonathan 
compelled  me  to  abandon,  and  of  whom  he  took,  and  maintain- 
ed the  possession,  too,  in  spite  of  dangers  of  every  kind." 

"  Eeally,"  exclaimed  the  wdlful  girl,  clasping  her  hands  in 
affected  astonishment,  though  Lionel  thought  he  could  read 
inward  satisfaction  at  his  intelligence,  "the  prodigies  of  the  man 
exceed  belief !  One  wants  the  faith  of  father  Abraham  to  credit 
such  marvels !  Though,  after  the  repulse  of  two  thousand  Brit- 
ish soldiers  by  a  body  of  husbandmen,  I  am  prepared  for  an  ex- 
ceeding use  of  my  credulity." 

"  The  moment  is,  then,  auspicious  for  my  friend,"  whispered 
Lionel,  rising  to  follow  the  flitting  form  of  Cecil  Dynevor,  which 
he  saw  gliding  into  the  opposite  room,  as  Polwarth  himself  en- 
tered the  apartment.  "  Credulity  is  said  to  be  the  great  weak- 
ness of  your  sex,  and  I  must  leave  you  a  moment  exposed  to  the 
failing,  and  that,  too,  in  the  dangerous  company  ot  the  subject 
')i  our  discourse." 

"  Now  would  you  give  half  your  hopes  of  promotion,  and  all 
your  hopes  of  a  war.  Captain  Polwarth,  to  know  in  what  man- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


aer  your  character  has  been  treated  in  your  absence  1"  cried 
Agnes,  bhisliing  slightly.  "I  shall  not,  however,  satisfy  the 
cravings  of  your  curiosity,  but  let  it  serve  as  a  stimulant  to  bet- 
ter deeds  than  have  employed  you  since  we  met  last." 

"  I  trust  Lincoln  has  done  justice  to  my  service,"  returned 
the  good-humored  captain,  "  and  that  he  has  not  neglected  to 
mention  the  manner  in  which  I  rescued  his  steed  from  the 
rebels  ?" 

"  The  what,  sir  ?"  interrupted  Agnes,  with  a  frown.  "  How 
did  you  style  the  good  people  of  Massachusetts  Bay  ?" 

"  I  should  have  said  the  excited  dwellers  in  the  land,  I  be- 
heve.  Ah !  Miss  Agnes,  I  have  suffered  this  day  as  man  never 
suffered  before  ;  and  all  on  your  behalf — " 

"  On  my  behalf !  Your  words  require  explanation.  Captain 
Polwarth." 

"  'Tis  impossible,"  returned  the  captain  :  "  there  are  feelings 
and  actions  connected  with  the  heart  that  will  admit  of  no  ex- 
planation. All  I  know  is,  that  I  have  suffered  unutterably  on 
your  account,  to-day  ;  and  what  is  unutterable  is  in  a  great  de- 
gree inexplicable." 

"  I  shall  set  this  down  for  what  I  understand  occurs  regularly 
in  a  certain  description  of  tete-a-tetes — the  expression  of  an  un- 
utterable thing !  Surely,  Major  Lincoln  had  some  reason  to 
believe  he  left  me  at  the  mercy  of  my  credulity  !" 

"  You  slander  your  own  character,  fair  Agnes,"  said  Pol- 
warth, endeavoring  to  look  piteously  :  "  you  are  neither  merci- 
ful nor  credulous,  or  you  would  long  since  have  believed  my 
tale,  and  taken  pity  on  my  misery." 

"  Is  not  sympathy  a  sort — a  kind — in  short,  is  not  sympathy 
a  dreadful  symptom  in  a  certain  disease  ?"  asked  Agnes,  resting 
her  eyes  on  the  floor,  and  affecting  a  girlish  embarrassment. 

"Who  can  gainsay  it?"  cried  the  captain;  "'tis  the  infallible 
way  for  a  young  lady  to  discover  the  bent  of  her  inclinations. 
Thousands  have  lived  in  ignorance  of  their  own  affections  until 
their  sympathies  have  been  awakened.    But  what  means  the 


158 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


question,  my  fair  tormentor  ?  May  I  dare  to  flatter  myself  that 
you  at  length  feel  for  my  pains  ?" 

"  I  am  sadly  afraid  'tis  but  too  true,  Polwarth,"  returned 
Agnes,  shaking  her  head,  and  continuing  to  look  exceedingly 
grave. 

Polwarth  moved,  with  something  like  animation  again,  nigher 
to"  the  amused  girl ;  and  attempted  to  take  her  hand,  as  he 
said — 

"  You  restore  me  to  life  with  your  sweet  acknowledgments — 
1  have  lived  for  six  months  like  a  dog  under  your  frowns,  but 
one  kind  word  acts  like  a  healing  balm,  and  restores  me  to  my- 
self again !" 

"  Then  my  sympathy  is  evaporated !"  returned  Agnes. 
"  Throughout  this  long  and  anxious  day  have  I  fancied  myself 
older  than  my  good,  staid,  great-aunt ;  and  whenever  certain 
thoughts  have  crossed  my  mind,  I  have  even  imagined  a  thou- 
sand of  the  ailings  of  age  had  encircled  me — rheumatisms, 
gouts,  asthmas,  and  numberless  other  aches  and  pains,  exceed- 
ingly unbecoming  to  a  young  lady  of  nineteen.  But  you  have 
enlightened  me,  and  given  vast  relief  to  my  apprehensions,  by 
explaining  it  to  be  more  than  sympathy.  You  see,  Polwarth, 
what  a  wife  you  will  obtain,  should  I  ever,  in  a  weak  moment, 
accept  you ;  for  I  have  already  sustained  one  half  your  bur- 
dens 1" 

"  A  man  is  not  made  to  be  in  constant  motion,  like  the  pen- 
dulum of  that  clock.  Miss  Danforth,  and  yet  feel  no  fatigue," 
said  Polwarth,  more  vexed  than  he  would  permit  himself  to  be- 
tray ;  "  yet  I  flatter  myself  there  is  no  officer  in  the  light  in- 
fantry— you  understand  me  to  say  the  light  infantry— who  has 
passed  over  more  ground,  within  four-and-twenty  hours,  than 
the  man  who  hastens,  notwithstanding  his  exploits,  to  throw 
himself  at  your  feet,  even  before  he  thinks  of  his  ordinary  rest.'' 

"Captain  Polwarth,"  said  Agnes,  rising,  "for  the  compli- 
ment, if  compliment  it  be,  I  thank  you ;  but,"  she  added,  los- 
ing her  affected  gravity  in  a  strong  natural  feeling  that  shono 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


159 


in  lier  dark  eye,  and  illuminated  the  whole  of  her  fine  counte- 
nance, as  she  laid  her  hand  impressively  on  her  heart — "  the 
man  who  will  supplant  the  feelings  which  nature  has  impressed 
here,  must  not  come  to  my  feet,  as  you  call  it,  from  a  field  of 
battle,  where  he  has  been  contending  with  my  kinsmen,  and 
helping  to  enslave  my  country.  You  will  excuse  me,  sir,  but  as 
Major  Lincoln  is  at  home  here,  permit  me,  for  a  few  minutes,  to 
leave  you  to  his  hospitality." 

She  withdrew  as  Lionel  re-entered,  passing  him  on  the 
threshold. 

"  I  would  rather  be  a  leader  in  a  stage-coach,  or  a  running 
footman,  than  in  love  !"  cried  Polwarth — "  'tis  a  dog's  life,  Leo, 
and  this  girl  treats  me  like  a  cart-horse !  But  what  an  eye 
she  has  1  I  could  have  lighted  my  cigar  by  it — my  heart  is  a 
heap  of  cinders.  Why,  Leo,  what  aileth  thee  ?  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  damnable  day,  I  have  not  before  seen  thee  bear 
such  a  troubled  look !" 

"Let  us  withdraw  to  my  private  quarters,"  muttered  the 
young  man,  whose  aspect  and  air  expressed  the  marks  of  ex- 
treme disturbance^ — "'tis  time  to  repair  the  disasters  of  our 
march." 

"  All  that  has  been  already  looked  to,"  said  Polwarth,  rising 
and  limping,  with  sundry  grimaces,  in  the  best  manner  he  was 
able,  in  a  vain  efibrt  to  equal  the  rapid  strides  of  his  compan- 
ion. "  My  first  business  on  leaving  you  was  to  borrow  a  con- 
veyance of  a  friend,  in  which  I  rode  to  your  place ;  and  my 
next  was  to  write  to  little  Jimmy  Craig,  to  ofier  an  exchange  of 
my  company  for  his — for  from  this  hour  henceforth  I  denounce 
all  hght-infantry  movements,  and  shall  take  the  first  opportunity 
to  get  back  again  into  the  dragoons ;  as  soon  as  I  have  efiected 
which.  Major  Lincoln,  I  propose  to  treat  with  you  for  the  pur- 
chase of  that  horse.  After  that  duty  was  performed, — for,  if 
self-preservation  be  commendable,  it  became  a  duty, — I  made 
out  a  bill  of  fare  for  Meriton,  in  order  that  nothing  might  be 
forgotten ;  after  which,  like  yourself,  Lionel,  I  hastened  to  the 


160 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


feet  of  my  mistress — Ah !  Major  Lincoln,  you  are  a  tappy 
man  ;  for  you  there  is  no  reception  but  smiles — and  charms 
so—'' 

"  Talk  not  to  me,  sir,  of  smiles,"  interrupted  Lionel,  impa- 
tiently, "  nor  of  the  charms  of  women.  They  are  all  alike,  ca- 
pricious and  unaccountable." 

"  Bless  me !"  exclaimed  Polwarth,  staring  about  him  in  won- 
der ;  "there  is  then  favor  for  none,  in  this  place,  who  battle  for 
the  king !  There  is  a  strange  connection  between  Cupid  and 
Mars,  love  and  war ;  for  here  did  I,  after  fighting  all  day  like 
a  Saracen,  a  Turk,  Jenghis  Khan,  or,  in  short,  any  thing  but  a 
good  Christian,  come  with  full  intent  to  make  a  serious  ofier  of 
my  hand,  commission,  and  of  Polwarth  Hall,  to  that  treasona- 
ble vixen,  when  she  repulses  me  with  a  frown  and  a  sarcasm  as 
biting  as  the  salutation  of  a  hungry  man.  But  what  an  eye 
the  girl  has,  and  what  a  bloom,  when  she  is  a  little  more  sea- 
soned than  common !  Then  you,  too,  Lionel,  have  been  treated 
like  a  dog !" 

"  Like  a  fool,  as  I  am,"  said  Lionel,  pacing  haughtily  over 
the  ground  at  a  rate  that  soon  threw  his  companion  too  far  in 
the  rear  to  admit  of  further  discourse  until  they  reached  the 
place  of  their  destination.  Here,  to  the  no  small  surprise  of 
both  gentlemen,  they  found  a  company  collected  that  neither 
was  prepared  to  meet.  At  a  side-table  sat  M'Fuse,  discussing, 
with  singular  relish,  some  of  the  cold  viands  of  the  previous 
night's  repast,  and  washing  down  his  morsels  with  deep  pota- 
tions of  the  best  wine  of  his  host.  In  one  corner  of  the  room 
Seth  Sage  was  posted,  with  the  appearance  of  a  man  in  duresse, 
his  hands  being  tied  before  him,  from  which  depended  a  long 
cord,  that  might,  on  emergency,  be  made  to  serve  the  purpose 
of  a  halter.  Opposite  to  the  prisoner,  for  such  in  truth  he  was, 
stood  Job,  imitating  the  example  of  the  captain  of  grenadiers, 
who  now  and  then  tossed  some  fragment  of  his  meal  into  the 
hat  of  the  simpleton.  Meriton  and  several  of  the  menials  of  the 
establishnient  were  in  waiting. 


LIONEL  LIXCOLX. 


161 


*  What  have  we  here  !"  cried  Lionel,  regarding  the  scene  with 
a  cuiious  eye.  "  Of  what  oflence  ha^  Mr.  Sage  been  guihy,  that 
he  bears  those  bonds  ?" 

"  Of  the  small  crimes  of  tr'ason  and  homicide/'  returned 
M'Fuse,  "  if  shooting  at  a  man,  with  a  hearty  mind  to  kill  him, 
can  make  a  mm'der." 

"  It  can't,"  said  Seth,  raising  his  eyes  from  the  floor,  where  he 
had  hitherto  kept  them  in  demure  silence ;  "  a  man  must  kill 
with  wicked  intent  to  commit  murder — " 

"  Hear  to  the  blackguard,  detailing  the  law  as  if  he  were  my 
lord  chief-justice  of  the  King's  Bench  !"  inteiTupted  the  grena- 
dier ;  "  and  what  w^as  your  own  wicked  intention,  ye  skulking 
vas^abond,  but  to  kill  me  !  I'll  have  you  tried  and  huno-  for  the 
same  act." 

"  It's  ag'in  reason  to  believe  that  any  jury  will  comict  one 
man  for  the  murder  of  another  that  an't  dead,"  said  Seth ; 
"  there's  no  jury  to  be  found  in  the  Bay  colony  to  do  it." 

"Bay  colony,  ye  murdering  thief  and  rebel!"  ciied  the  cap- 
tain ;  "  I'll  have  ye  transported  to  England ;  ye  shall  be  both 
transported  and  hung.  By  the  Lord,  I'll  carry  ye  back  to  Ire- 
land with  me,  and  I'll  hang  ye  up  in  the  green  island  itself,  and 
bury  ye,  in  the  heart  of  winter,  in  a  bog — " 

"  But  what  is  the  oflence,"  demanded  Lionel,  "  that  calls 
forth  these  severe  threats  f 

"  The  scoundrel  has  been  out — " 

"  Out !" 

"  Ay,  out !  Damn  it,  sir,  has  not  the  whole  country  been 
like  so  many  bees  in  search  of  a  hive  ?  Is  your  memory  so 
short  that  ye  forget,  already,  Major  Lincoln,  the  tramp  the 
blackguards  have  given  you  over  hill  and  dale,  through  thick 
and  thin  ?" 

"  And  was  Mr.  Sage,  then,  found  among  our  enemies  to- 
day ?" 

"  Didn't  I  see  him  pull  trigger  on  my  own  stature  three 
times  within  as  many  minutes  ?"  returned  the  angry  captain ; 


162 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  and  didn't  lie  break  tlie  handle  of  mj  sword  ?  And  have 
not  I  a  bit  of  lead  lie  calls  a  buckshot  in  my  shoulder  as  a 
present  from  the  thief  ?" 

"  It's  ag'in  all  law  to  call  a  man  a  thief,"  said  Job,  "  unless 
you  can  prove  it  upon  him  ;  but  it  an't  ag'in  law  to  go  in  and 
out  of  Boston  as  often  as  you  choose." 

"  Do  you  hear  the  rascals  !  They  know  every  angle  of  the 
law  as  well,  or  better  than  I  do  myself,  who  am  the  son  of  a 
Cork  counsellor.  I  dare  to  say,  you  were  among  them  too,  and 
that  ye  deserve  the  gallows  as  well  as  your  commendable  com- 
panion, there." 

"  How  is  this  ?"  said  Lionel,  turning  quickly  away  from  Job, 
with  a  view  to  prevent  a  reply  that  might  endanger  the  safety 
of  the  changeling.  "  Did  you  not  only  mingle  in  this  rebellion, 
Mr.  Sage,  but  also  attempt  the  life  of  a  gentleman  who  may 
be  said,  almost,  to  be  an  inmate  of  your  own  house 

"  I  conclude,"  returned  Seth,  "  it's  best  not  to  talk  too  much, 
seeing  that  no  one  can  foretell  what  may  happen." 

"  Hear  to  the  cunning  reprobate  !  he  has  not  the  grace  to 
acknowledge  his  own  sins,  hke  an  honest  man,"  interrupted 
M'Fuse  ;  "  but  I  can  save  him  that  small  trouble.  I  got  tired, 
you  must  know,  Major  Lincoln,  of  being  shot  at  like  noxious 
vermin,  from  morning  till  night,  without  making  some  return 
to  the  compliments  of  those  gentlemen  who  are  out  on  the 
hills ;  and  I  took  advantage  of  a  turn,  ye  see,  to  double  on  a 
party  of  the  uncivilized  demons.  This  lad,  here,  got  three  good 
pulls  at  me,  before  we  closed  and  made  an  end  of  them  with 
the  steel,  all  but  this  fellow,  who,  having  a  becoming  look  for  a 
gallows,  I  brought  him  in,  as  you  see,  for  an  exchange,  intend- 
ing to  hang  him  the  first  favorable  opportunity." 

"  If  this  be  true,  we  must  give  him  into  the  hands  of  the 
proper  authorities,"  said  Lionel,  smiling  at  the  confused  account 
of  the  angry  captain ;  "  for  it  remains  to  be  seen  yet  what 
course  will  be  adopted  with  the  prisoners  in  this  singular  con* 
test." 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


163 


"  I  should  think  nothing  of  the  matter "  returned  M'Fuse, 
"  if  the  reprobate  had  not  tr'ated  me  Hke  a  "beast  of  the  field, 
with  his  buckshot,  and  taking  his  aim  each  time,  as  though  I 
had  been  a  mad  dog.  Ye  villain,  do  you  call  yourself  a  man, 
and  aim  at  a  fellow-creature  as  you  would  at  a  brute  ?" 

"  "Why,"  said  Seth,  sullenly,  "  when  a  man  has  pretty  much 
made  up  his  mind  to  fight,  I  conclude  it's  best  to  take  aim,  in 
order  to  save  ammunition  and  time." 

You  acknowledge  the  charge,  then  ?"  demanded  Lionel. 

"  As  the  major  is  a  moderate  man,  and  will  hear  to  reason, 
I  will  talk  the  matter  over  with  him  rationally,"  said  Seth,  dis- 
posing himself  to  speak  more  to  the  purpose.  "You  see  I  had 
a  small  call  to  Concord  early  this  morning — " 

"  Concord  !"  exclaimed  Lionel. 

"  Yes,  Concord,"  returned  Seth,  lapng  great  stress  on  the 
first  syllable,  and  speaking  with  an  air  of  extreme  inno- 
cence :  "  it  lies  here-away,  say  twenty  or  one-and-twenty 
miles — " 

"  Damn  your  Concords,  and  your  miles,  too  !"  cried  Pol- 
warth.  "  Is  there  a  man  in  the  army  who  can  forget  the  de- 
ceitful place  ?  Go  on  with  your  defence,  without  talking  to  us 
of  the  distance,  who  have  measured  the  road  by  inches." 

"The  captain  is  hasty  and  rash!"  said  the  deliberate  prisoner. 
"  But  being  there,  I  went  out  of  the  town  with  some  company 
that  I  happened  in  with  ;  and  after  a  time,  we  concluded  to  re- 
turn ;  and  so,  as  we  came  to  a  bridge  about  a  mile  beyond  the 
place,  we  received  considerable  rough  treatment  from  some  of 
the  king's  troops,  who  were  standing  there — " 

"  What  did  they 

"  They  fired  at  us,  and  killed  two  of  our  company,  besides 
other  threatening  doings.  There  were  some  among  us  that 
took  the  matter  up  in  considerable  earnest,  and  there  was  a 
sharp  toss  about  it  for  a  few  minutes ;  though  finally  the  law 
prevailed." 

«  The  law !" 


1G4 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Certain.  'Tis  ag'in  all  law,  I  believe  the  major  will  own, 
to  shoot  peaceable  men  on  the  public  highway  !" 

"  Proceed  with  your  tale  in  your  own  way." 

"  That  is  pretty  much  the  whole  of  it,"  said  Seth,  warily. 
"  The  people  rather  took  that,  and  some  other  things  that  hap- 
pened at  Lexington,  to  heart,  and  T  suppose  the  major  knows 
the  rest." 

"  But  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  your  attempt  to  murder 
me,  you  hypocrite  ?"  demanded  M'Fuse.  "  Confess  the  whole, 
ye  thief,  that  I  may  hang  you  with  an  aisy  conscience." 

"  Enough,"  said  Lionel :  "  the  man  has  acknowledged  suffi- 
cient already  to  justify  us  in  transferring  him  to  the  custody  of 
others.  Let  him  be  taken  to  the  main  guard,  and  delivered  as 
a  prisoner  of  this  day." 

"  I  hope  the  major  will  look  to  the  things,"  said  Seth,  who 
instantly  prepared  to  depart,  but  stopped  on  the  threshold  to 
speak.    "  I  shall  hold  him  accountable  for  all." 

"  Your  property  shall  be  protected,  and  I  hope  your  life  may 
not  be  in  jeopardy,"  returned  Lionel,  waving  his  Land  for  those 
who  guarded  him  to  proceed.  Seth  turned,  and  left  his  own 
dwelling  with  the  same  quiet  air  which  had  distinguished  him 
throughout  the  day ;  though  there  were  occasional  flashes  from 
his  quick,  dark  eyes,  that  looked  like  the  glimmerings  of  a 
fading  fire.  Notwithstanding  the  threatening  denunciation  he 
had  encountered,  he  left  the  house  with  a  perfect  con\nction, 
that  if  his  case  were  to  be  tried  by  those  principles  of  justice 
which  every  man  in  the  colony  so  well  understood,  it  would  be 
found  that  both  he  and  his  fellows  had  kept  thoroughly  on  the 
windy  side  of  the  law. 

During  this  singular  and  characteristic  discourse,  Polwarth, 
with  the  solitary  exception  we  have  recorded,  had  employed  his 
time  in  forwarding  the  preparations  for  the  banquet. 

As  Seth  and  his  train  disappeared,  Lionel  cast  a  furtive  look 
at  Job,  who  was  a  quiet,  and  apparently  an  undisturbed  spec- 
tator of  the  scene,  and  then  turned  his  attention  suddenly  to  his 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


165 


guests,  as  if  fearful  tlie  folly  of  the  changeling  might  betray  his 
agency  also  in  the  deeds  of  the  day.  The  simplicity  of  the  lad, 
however,  defeated  the  kind  intentions  of  the  major,  for  he  im- 
mediately observed,  without  the  least  indication  of  fear — 

"  The  king  can't  hang  Seth  Sage  for  firing  back,  when  the 
rake-helly  soldiers  began  first." 

"  Perhaps  you  were  out  too.  Master  Solomon,"  cried  M'Fuse, 
amusing  yourself  at  Concord,  with  a  small  party  of  select 
friends  ?" 

"  Job  didn't  go  any  further  than  Lexington,"  returned  the 
lad ;  "  and  he  hasn't  got  any  fiiend,  except  old  Nab." 

"  The  devil  has  possessed  the  minds  of  the  people  !"  con- 
tinued the  grenadier.  "  Lawyers  and  doctors,  praists  and  sin- 
ners, old  and  young,  big  and  little,  beset  us  in  our  march,  and 
here  is  a  fool  to  be  added  to  the  number  !  I  dare  say  that  fel- 
low, now,  has  attempted  murder  in  his  day,  too." 

"  J ob  scorns  such  wickedness,"  returned  the  unmoved  sim- 
pleton :  "  he  only  shot  one  granny,  and  hit  an  ofiicer  in  the 
arm." 

"  D'ye  hear  that.  Major  Lincoln  ?"  cried  M'Fuse,  jumping 
from  the  seat,  which,  notwithstanding  the  bitterness  of  his  lan- 
guage, he  had  hitherto  perseveringly  maintained ;  "  d'ye  hear 
that  shell  of  a  man,  that  effigy,  boasting  of  having  killed  a 
grenadier  f ' 

"  Hold  !"  interrupted  Lionel,  arresting  his  excited  companion 
by  the  arm  :  "  remember  we  are  soldiers,  and  that  the  boy  is 
not  a  responsible  being.  No  tribunal  would  ever  sentence  such 
an  unfortunate  creature  to  a  gibbet ;  and  in  general,  he  is  as 
hannless  as  a  babe — " 

"  The  devil  burn  such  babes  !  A  pretty  fellow  is  he  to  kill  a 
man  of  six  feet !  and  with  a  ducking  gun,  I'll  engage.  I'll  not 
hang  the  rascal.  Major  Lincoln,  since  it  is  your  particular  wish — 
I'll  only  have  him  buried  alive." 

Job  continued  perfectly  unmoved  in  his  chair  ;  and  the  cap- 
tain, ashamed  of  his  resentment  against  such  unconscious  imbe- 


166 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


cility,  was  soon  persuaded  to  abandon  his  intentions  of  revenge, 
though  he  continued  muttering  his  threats  against  the  provin- 
cials, and  his  denunciations  against  such  "  an  unmanly  spacies 
of  warfare,"  until  the  much-needed  repast  was  ended. 

Polwarth,  having  restored  the  equilibrium  of  his  system  by  a 
hearty  meal,  hobbled  to  his  bed,  and  M'Fuse,  without  any  cere- 
mony, took  possession  of  another  of  the  apartments  in  the  tene- 
ment of  Mr.  Sage.  The  servants  withdrew  to  their  own  enter- 
tainment ;  and  Lionel,  who  had  been  sitting  for  the  last  half 
hour  in  melancholy  silence,  now  unexpectedly  found  himself 
alone  with  the  changeling.  Job  had  waited  for  this  moment 
with  exceeding  patience ;  but  when  the  door  closed  on  Meriton, 
who  was  the  last  to  retire,  he  made  a  movement  that  indicated 
some  communication  of  more  than  usual  importance,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  attracting  the  attention  of  his  companion. 

"  Foolish  boy  !"  exclaimed  Lionel,  as  he  met  the  unmeaning 
eye  of  the  other,  "  did  I  not  warn  you  that  wicked  men  might 
endanger  your  life  ?  How  was  it  that  I  saw  you  in  arms  to-day 
against  the  troops 

"  How  came  the  troops  in  arms  ag'in  Job  ?"  returned  the 
changeling.  "  They  needn't  think  to  wheel  about  the  Bay 
province,  clashing  their  godless  drums  and  trumpets,  burning 
housen,  and  shooting  people,  and  find  no  stir  about  it !" 

"  Do  you  know  that  your  life  has  been  twice  forfeited  within 
twelve  hours,  by  your  own  confession  :  once  for  murder,  and 
again  for  treason  against  your  king  ?  You  have  acknowledged 
killing  a  man 

"  Yes,"  said  the  lad,  with  undisturbed  simplicity,  "  Job  shot 
the  gTanny ;  but  he  didn't  let  the  people  kill  Major  Lincoln." 

"  True,  true,"  said  Lionel,  hastily  :  "  I  owe  my  life  to  you, 
and  that  debt  shall  be  cancelled  at  every  hazard.  But  why 
have  you  put  yourself  into  the  hands  of  your  enemies  so  thought- 
lessly ?    What  brings  you  here  to-night  ?" 

"  Kalph  told  me  to  come  ;  and  if  Ralph  told  Job  to  2;o  into 
the  king's  parlor,  he  would  go." 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


367 


"  Ralph  exclaimed  Lionel,  stopping  in  his  hurried  walk 
across  the  room  ;  "  and  where  is  he  ?" 

"In  the  old  ware'us';  and  he  has  sent  me  to  tell  you  to  come 
to  him  ;  and  what  Ralph  says  must  be  done." 

"  He  here,  too  !  Is  the  man  crazed  ?  Would  not  his  fears 
teach  him — " 

"  Fears !"  interrupted  Job,  with  singular  disdain :  "  you  can't 
frighten  Ralph.  The  grannies  couldn't  frighten  him,  nor  the 
light  infantry  couldn't  hit  him,  though  he  eat  nothing  but  their 
smoke  the  whole  day.    Ralph's  a  proper  warrior  !" 

"  And  he  waits  me,  you  say,  in  the  tenement  of  your 
mother  ?" 

"  Job  don't  know  what  tenement  means,  but  he's  in  the  old 
ware' us'." 

"  Come,  then,"  said  Lionel,  taking  his  hat,  "  let  us  go  to 
him :  I  must  save  him  from  the  effects  of  his  own  rashness, 
though  it  cost  my  commission  !" 

He  left  the  room  while  speaking,  and  the  simj^leton  followed 
close  at  his  heels,  well  content  with  having  executed  his  mission 
without  encountering  any  greater  difficulties. 


168 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

"  This  play  is  the  image  of  a  murder  done  in  Vienna  I 
Gonzago  is  the  duke's  name ;  his  wife,  Baptista : 
You  shall  see,  anon ;  'tis  a  knavish  piece  of  work." 

Hamlet. 

The  agitation  and  deep  excitement  produced  by  the  events 
of  the  day  had  not  yet  subsided  in  the  town,  when  Lionel 
found  himself  again  in  its  narrow  streets.  Men  passed  swiftly 
by  him,  as  if  bent  on  some  unusual  and  earnest  business  ;  and 
more  than  once  the  young  soldier  detected  the  triumphant 
smiles  of  the  women,  as  they  looked  curiously  out  on  the 
scene,  from  their  half-open  windows,  and  their  eyes  detected 
the  professional  trappings  of  his  dress.  Strong  bodies  of  the 
troops  were  marching  in  different  directions,  and  in  a  manner 
which  denoted  that  the  guards  were  strengthening,  while  the 
few  solitary  officers  he  met  watched  his  approaching  figure 
with  cautious  jealousy,  as  if  they  apprehended  a  dangerous  ene- 
my in  every  form  they  encountered. 

The  gates  of  Province  House  were  open,  and,  as  usual, 
guarded  by  armed  men.  As  Lionel  passed  leisurely  along,  he 
perceived  that  the  grenadier  to  whom  he  had  spoken  on  the 
preceding  evening,  again  held  his  watch  before  the  portal  of  the 
governor. 

"Your  experience . did  not  deceive  you,  my  old  comrade," 
said  Lionel,  lingering  a  moment  to  address  him  ;  "  we  have 
had  a  warm  day." 

"  So  it  is  reported  in  the  barracks,  your  honor,"  returned  the 
soldier ;  "  our  company  was  not  ordered  out,  and  we  are  to 
stand  double  duty.  I  hope  to  God  the  next  time  there  is  any 
thing  to  do,  the  grenadiers  of  the   ^th  may  not  be  left  be- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


169 


— it  would  have  been  for  tlie  credit  of  the  army  had  they 
been  in  the  field  to-day." 

"  Why  do  yon  think  so,  my  veteran  ?  The  men  who  were 
out  are  thought  to  have  behaved  well ;  but  it  was  impossible  to 
make  head  ao-ainst  a  multitude  in  arms.'^ 

o 

"  It  is  not  my  place,  your  honor,  to  say,  this  man  did  well, 
and  that  man  behaved  amiss,"  returned  the  proud  old  soldier  ; 
"  but  when  I  hear  of  two  thousand  British  troops  turning  their 
backs,  or  quickening  their  march,  before  all  the  rabble  this 

country  can  muster,  I  want  the  flank  companies  of  the  th 

to  be  at  hand,  if  it  should  be  only  that  I  may  say  I  have  wit- 
nessed the  disgraceful  sight  with  my  own  eyes." 

"  There  is  no  disgrace  where  there  is  no  misconduct,"  said 
Lionel. 

"  There  must  have  been  misconduct  somewhere,  your  honor, 
or  such  a  thing  could  not  have  happened ;  consider,  your  honor, 
the  very  flower  of  the  army !  Something  must  have  been 
wrong ;  and  although  I  could  see  the  latter  part  of  the  business 
from  the  hills,  I  can  hardly  believe  it  to  be  true."  As  he  con- 
cluded, he  shook  his  head,  and  continued  his  steady  pace  along 
his  allotted  ground,  as  if  unwilling  to  pursue  the  humihating 
subject  any  further.  Lionel  passed  slowly  on,  musing  on  that 
deep-rooted  prejudice,  which  had  even  taught  this  humble  me- 
nial of  the  crown  to  regard  with  contempt  a  whole  nation,  be- 
cause they  were  believed  to  be  dependants. 

The  Dock  Square  was  stiller  than  usual,  and  the  sounds  of 
revelry,  which  it  was  usual  to  hear  at  that  hour  from  the  adja- 
cent drinking-houses,  were  no  longer  audible.  The  moon  had 
not  yet  risen,  and  Lionel  passed  under  the  dark  arches  of  the 
market  with  a  quick  step,  as  he  now  remembered  that  one  in 
whom  he  felt  so  deep  an  interest  awaited  his  appearance.  Job, 
who  had  followed  in  silence,  glided  by  him  on  the  drawbridge, 
and  stood  holding  the  door  of  the  old  building  in  his  hand, 
when  he  reached  its  threshold.  Lionel  found  the  large  space  in 
the  centre  of  the  warehouse,  as  usual,  dark  and  empty,  though 

8 


170 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


the  dim  light  of  a  candle  glimmered  through  the  fissures  in  a 
partition  which  separated  an  apartment  in  one  of  the  little  tow- 
ers that  was  occupied  by  Abigail  Pray,  from  the  ruder  parts  of 
the  edifice.  Low  voices  were  also  heard  issuing  from  this  room, 
and  Major  Lincoln,  supposing  he  should  find  the  old  man  and 
the  mother  of  Job  in  conference  together,  turned  to  request  the 
lad  would  precede  him,  and  announce  his  name.  But  the 
changeling  had  also  detected  the  whispering  sounds,  and  it 
would  seem  with  a  more  cunning  ear,  for  he  turned  and  darted 
through  the  door  of  the  building  with  a  velocity  that  did  not 
abate  until  Lionel,  who  watched  his  movements  with  amaze 
ment,  saw  his  shuffling  figure  disappear  among  the  shambles  of 
the  market-place.  Thus  deserted  by  his  guide,  Lionel  groped 
his  way  towards  the  place  where  he  believed  he  should  find  the 
door  which  led  into  the  tower.  The  light  deceived  him ;  for, 
as  he  approached  it,  his  eye  glanced  through  one  of  the  crevices 
of  the  wall,  and  he  again  became  an  unintentional  witness  of 
another  of  those  interviews,  which  evinced  the  singular  and 
mysterious  affinity  between  the  fortunes  of  the  affluent  and  re- 
spected Mrs.  Lechmere  and  the  miserable  tenant  of  the  ware- 
house. Until  that  moment,  the  hurry  of  events  and  the  crowd 
of  reflections  which  had  rushed  over  the  mind  of  the  young 
man,  throughout  the  busy  time  of  the  last  twenty-four  hours, 
had  prevented  his  recalling  the  hidden  meaning  of  the  singular 
discourse  of  which  he  had  already  been  an  auditor.  But  now, 
when  lie  found  his  aunt  led  into  these  haunts  of  beggary,  by  a 
feeling  he  was  not  weak  enough  to  attribute  to  her  charity,  he 
stood  rooted  to  the  spot  by  a  curiosity  which,  at  the  same  time 
that  he  found  it  irresistible,  he  was  willing  to  excuse,  under  a 
strong  impression  that  these  private  communications  were  in 
some  way  connected  with  himself. 

Mrs.  Lechmere  had  evidently  muffled  her  person  in  a  manner 
that  was  intended  to  conceal  this  mysterious  visit  from  any 
casual  observer  of  her  movements ;  but  the  hoops  of  her  large 
calash  were  now  so  far  raised  as  to  admit  a  distinct  view  of  her 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


withered  features,  and  of  the  hard  eye  which  shot  forth  its  self- 
ish, worldly  glances,  from  amid  the  surrounding  decay  of  na- 
ture. She  was  seated,  both  in  indulgence  to  her  infirmities,  and 
from  that  assumption  of  superiority  she  never  neglected  in  the 
presence  of  her  inferiors,  while  her  companion  stood  before  her, 
in  an  attitude  that  partook  more  of  restraint  than  of  respect. 

"  Your  weakness,  foolish  woman,"  said  Mrs.  Lechmere,  in 
those  stern,  repulsive  tones  she  so  well  knew  how  to  use,  when 
she  wished  to  intimidate,  "  will  yet  prove  your  ruin.  You  owe 
it  to  respect  for  yourself,  to  your  character,  and  even  to  your 
safety,  that  you  should  exhibit  more  firmness,  and  show  yourself 
above  this  weak  and  idle  superstition." 

"  My  ruin  !  and  my  character !"  returned  Abigail,  looking 
about  her  with  a  haggard  eye  and  a  trembling  lip ;  "  what  is 
ruin,  Madam  Lechmere,  if  this  poverty  be  not  called  so  ?  or 
what  loss  of  character  can  bring  upon  me  more  biting  scorn 
than  I  am  now  ordained  to  suffer  for  my  sins  ?" 

"  Perhaps,"  said  Mrs.  Lechmere,  endeavoring  to  afiect  a 
kinder  tone,  though  dislike  was  still  too  evident  in  her  manner, 
"  in  the  hurry  of  my  grand-nephew's  reception,  I  have  forgotten 
my  usual  liberality." 

The  woman  took  the  piece  of  silver  which  Mrs.  Lechmero 
slowly  placed  in  her  hand,  and  held  it  in  her  open  palm  for 
several  moments,  regarding  it  with  a  vacant  look,  which  the 
other  mistook  for  dissatisfaction. 

"  The  troubles,  and  the  decreasing  value  of  property,  have 
sensibly  affected  my  income,"  continued  the  richly  clad  and 
luxurious  Mrs.  Lechmere  ;  "  but  if  that  should  be  too  little  for 
your  immediate  wants,  I  will  add  to  it  another  crown." 

"  'Twill  do — 'twill  do,"  said  Abigail,  clenching  her  hand  over 
the  money,  with  a  grasp  that  was  convulsive  ;  "  yes,  yes,  'twill 
do.  Oh,  Madam  Lechmere,  humbling  and  sinful  as  that  wicked 
passion  is,  would  to  God  that  no  motive  worse  than  avarice  had 
proved  my  ruin  !" 

Lionel  thought  his  aunt  cast  an  uneasy  and  embarrassed 


172 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


glance  at  her  companion,  which  he  construed  into  an  expression 
that  betrayed  there  were  secrets  even  between  these  strange 
confidants  ;  but  the  momentary  surprise  exhibited  in  her  fea- 
tures soon  gave  place  to  her  habitual  look  of  guarded  and 
severe  formahty ;  and  she  replied,  with  an  air  of  coldness,  as  if 
she  would  repulse  any  approach  to  an  acknowledgment  of  their 
common  transgression — 

"The  woman  talks  like  one  who  is  beside  herself!  Of  what 
crime  has  she  been  guilty,  but  such  as  those  to  which  our  nature 
is  hable  !" 

"  True,  true,"  said  Abigail  Pray,  with  a  half-stifled,  hysterical 
laugh — "  'tis  our  guilty,  guilty  nature,  as  you  say.  But  I  grow 
nervous,  I  believe,  as  I  grow  old  and  feeble,  Madam  Lechmere ; 
and  I  often  forget  myself.  The  sight  of  the  grave,  so  very  near, 
is  apt  to  bring  thoughts  of  repentance  to  such  as  are  more 
hardened  even  than  I." 

"  Foolish  girl  1"  said  Mrs.  Lechmere,  endeavoring  to  screen 
her  j)allid  features,  by  drawing  down  her  calash,  with  a  hand 
that  trembled  more  with  terror  than  with  age ;  "  why  should 
you  speak  thus  freely  of  death,  who  are  but  a  child  ?" 

Lionel  heard  the  faltering,  husky  tones  of  his  aunt,  as  they 
appeared  to  die  in  her  throat,  but  nothing  more  was  distinctly 
audible,  until,  after  a  long  pause,  she  raised  her  face,  and  looked 
about  her  again  with  her  severe,  unbending  eye,  and  con- 
tinued— 

"Enough  of  this  folly,  Abigail  Pray — I  have  come  to  learn 
more  of  your  strange  inmate — " 

"Oh!  'tis  not  enough,  Madam  Lechmere,"  interrupted  the 
conscience-stricken  woman ;  "  we  have  so  little  time  left  us  for 
penitence  and  prayer,  that  there  never  can  be  enough,  I  fear,  to 
answer  our  mighty  transgressions.  Let  us  speak  of  the  grave. 
Madam  Lechmere,  while  we  can  yet  do  it  on  this  side  of 
eternity.''' 

"  Ay !  speak  of  the  grave,  while  out  of  its  damp  cloisters ; 
'tis  the  home  of  the  aged,"  said  a  third  voice,  whose  hollow 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


^ones  miglit  well  have  issued  from  some  tomb,  "  and  I  am  here 
to  join  in  the  wholesome  theme." 

"Who — who — in  the  name  of  God,  who  art  thou?''  ex- 
claimed Mrs.  Lechmere,  forgetting  her  infirmities,  and  her  secret 
compunctions,  in  new  emotions,  and  rising  involuntarily  from 
her  seat ;  "  tell  me,  I  conjure  thee,  who  thou  art 

"One,  aged  like  thyself,  Priscilla  Lechmere,  and  standing 
on  the  threshold  of  that  final  home  of  which  you  would 
discourse.  Speak  on,  then,  ye  widowed  women;  for  if  ever 
ye  have  done  aught  that  calls  for  forgiveness,  'tis  in  the  grave 
ye  shall  find  the  heavenly  gift  of  mercy  offered  to  your  un- 
worthiness." 

By  changing  the  position  of  his  body  a  little,  Lionel  was  now 
enabled  to  command  a  view  of  the  whole  apartment.  In  the 
door- way  stood  Ralph,  immovable  in  his  attitude,  with  one  hand 
raised  high  towards  heaven,  and  the  other  pointing  impressively 
downward,  as  if  about  to  lay  bare  the  secrets  of  that  tomb,  of 
which  his  wasted  limbs,  and  faded  lineaments,  marked  him 
as  a  fit  tenant,  while  his  searching  eyeballs  glared  about  him, 
from  the  face  of  one  to  the  other,  with  that  look  of  quickness 
and  penetration,  that  Abigail  Pray  had  so  well  described  as 
'  scorching.'  "Within  a  few  feet  of  the  old  man,  Mrs.  Lechmere 
remained  standing,  rigid  and  motionless  as  marble,  her  calash 
fallen  back,  and  her  death -like  features  exposed,  with  horror 
and  astonishment  rooted  in  every  muscle,  as,  with  open  mouth, 
and  eyes  riveted  on  the  intruder,  she  gazed  as  steadily  as  if 
placed  in  that  posture  by  the  chisel  of  the  statuary.  Abigail 
shaded  her  eyes  with  her  hand,  and  buried  her  face  in  the  folds 
of  her  garments,  while  strong  convulsive  shudderings  ran 
through  her  frame,  and  betrayed  the  extent  of  the  emotions  she 
endeavored  to  conceal.  Amazed  at  what  he  had  witnessed,  and 
concerned  for  the  apparent  insensibility  of  his  aunt,  whose  great 
age  rendered  such  scenes  dangerous,  Lionel  w^as  about  to  rush 
into  the  apartment,  when  Mrs.  Lechmere  so  far  recovered  her 
faculties  as  to  speak,  and  the  young  man  lost  every  considera- 


174 


LIONEL  LINCOLN". 


tion  in  a  burning  curiosity,  whicli  was  powerfully  justified  by 
his  situation. 

"  Who  is  it  that  calls  me  by  the  name  of  Priscilla  ?"  said 
Mrs.  Lechmere ;  "  none  now  live  who  can  claim  to  be  so  fa- 
miliar." 

"  Priscilla — Priscilla,"  repeated  the  old  man,  looking  about 
him,  as  if  he  would  require  the  presence  of  another ;  "  it  is  a 
soft  and  pleasant  sound  to  my  ears,  and  there  is  one  that  owns 
it  besides  thee,  as  thou  knowest." 

"  She  is  dead ;  years  have  gone  by  since  I  saw  her  in  her 
coffin ;  and  I  would  forget  her,  and  all  like  her,  who  have  proved 
unworthy  of  my  blood." 

"  She  is  not  dead  !" — shouted  the  old  man,  in  a  voice  that 
rung  through  the  naked  rafters  of  the  edifice  like  the  unearthly 
tones  of  some  spirit  of  the  air  ;  "  she  lives — she  lives — ay !  she 
yet  hves !" 

"  Lives  1"  repeated  Mrs.  Lechmere,  recoiling  a  step  before  the 
forward  movement  of  the  other ;  "  why  am  I  so  weak  as  to 
listen !  'tis  impossible." 

"  Lives !"  exclaimed  Abigail  Pray,  clasping  her  hands  with 
agony.  "  Oh !  would  to  God  she  did  live !  but  did  I  not  see 
her  a  bloated,  disfigured  corpse  ?  did  I  not  with  these  very  hands 
place  the  grave-clothes  about  her  once  lovely  frame  ?  Oh  !  no — 
she  is  dead — dead — and  I  am  a — " 

"  'Tis  some  madman  that  asserts  these  idle  tales,"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Lechmere,  with  a  quickness  that  interrupted  the  criminal 
epithet  the  other  was  about  to  apply  to  herself.  "  The  unfortu- 
nate girl  is  long  since  dead,  as  we  know ;  why  should  we  reason 
with  a  maniac  ?" 

"  Maniac !"  repeated  Ralph,  with  an  expression  of  the  most 
taunting  irony;  "no — no — no — such  an  one  there  is,  as  you 
and  I  well  know,  but  'tis  not  I  who  am  mad — thou  art  rather 
crazed  thyself,  woman ;  thou  hast  made  one  maniac  already, 
wouldst  thou  make  another  ?" 

"  1 1"  said  Mrs.  Lechmere,  without  quailing  before  the  ai'dent 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


176 


look  slie  'mcouutered  :  "  that  God  who  bestows  reason,  recalls 
his  gift  at  will ;  'tis  not  I  who  exercise  such  power." 

"  How  sayest  thou,  Priscilla  Lechmere  cried  Ralph,  step- 
ping with  an  inaudible  tread  so  nigh  as  to  grasp,  unperceived, 
her  motionless  arm  with  his  own  wasted  fingers ;  "  yes — I  will 
call  thee  Priscilla,  little  as  thou  deservest  such  a  holy  name  : 
dost  thou  deny  the  power  to  craze — where,  then,  is  the  head  of 
thy  boasted  race  ?  the  proud  baronet  of  Devonshire,  the  wealthy, 
and  respected,  and  once  happy  companion  of  princes — thy 
nephew^,  Lionel  Lincoln  ?  Is  he  in  the  halls  of  his  fathers  ? — 
leading  the  arraier.  of  his  king? — ruling  and  protecting  his 
household  ? — or  is  he  the  tenant  of  a  gloomy  cell  ? — thou  know- 
est  he  is — thou  kiiowest  he  is — and,  woman,  thy  vile  machina- 
tions have  placed  him  there  1" 

"  Who  is  it  that  dare  thus  speak  to  me  ?"  demanded  Mrs. 
Lechmere,  rallying  her  faculties  with  a  mighty  effort,  to  look 
down  this  charge — "  if  my  unhappy  nephew  is  indeed  known 
to  thee,  thy  own  knowledge  will  refute  this  base  accusation — " 

"  Known  to  me !  I  would  ask  what  is  hid  from  me  ?  I  have 
looked  at  thee,  and  observed  thy  conduct,  woman,  for  the  life 
of  man ;  and  nothing  that  thou  hast  done  is  hid  from  me.  I 
tell  thee,  I  know  all.  Of  this  sinful  woman  here,  also,  I  know 
all.  Have  I  not  told  thee,  Abigail  Pray,  of  thy  most  secret 
transgressions  ?" 

"  Oh  !  yes — yes  ;  he  is  indeed  acquainted  with  what  I  had 
thought  was  now  concealed  from  every  eye  but  that  of  God !" 
cried  Abigail,  with  superstitious  terror. 

"  ISTor  of  thee  am  I  ignorant,  thou  miserable  widow  of  John 
Lechmere ;  and  of  Priscilla,  too,  do  I  not  know  all  ?" 

"  All !"  again  exclaimed  Abigail. 

"  All !"  repeated  Mrs.  Lechmere,  in  a  voice  barely  audible ; 
when  she  sunk  back  in  her  chair,  in  a  state  of  total  insensi- 
bihty.  The  breathless  interest  he  felt  in  all  that  had  passed, 
could  detain  Lionel  no  longer  from  rushing  to  the  assistance  of 
his  aunt.    Abigail  Pray,  who,  it  would  seem,  had  been  in  some 


116 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


measure  accustomed  to  sucli  scenes  with  her  lodger,  retained, 
however,  sufficient  self-command  to  anticipate  his  motions ;  and, 
Avhen  he  had  gained  the  door,  he  found  her  already  supporting, 
and  making  the  usual  applications  to  Mrs.  Lechmere.  It  be- 
came necessary  to  divest  the  sufferer  of  part  of  her  attire,  and 
Abigail,  assuring  Lionel  of  her  perfect  competency  to  act  by 
herself,  requested  him  to  withdraw,  not  only  on  that  account, 
but  because  she  felt  assured  that  nothing  could  prove  more 
dangerous  to  her  reviving  patient,  than  his  unexpected  presence. 
After  lingering  a  moment,  until  he  witnessed  the  signs  of  re- 
turning life,  Lionel  complied  with  the  earnest  entreaties  of  the 
woman ;  and,  leaving  the  room,  he  groped  his  way  to  the  foot 
of  the  ladder,  with  a  determination  to  ascend  to  the  apartment 
of  Ralph,  in  order  to  demand  at  once  an  explanation  of  what 
he  had  just  seen  and  heard.  He  found  the  old  man  seated  in 
his  little  tower,  his  hand  shading  his  eyes  from  the  feeble  light 
of  the  miserable  candle,  and  his  head  drooping  upon  his  bosom, 
like  one  in  pensive  musing.  Lionel  approached  him,  without 
appearing  to  attract  his  attention,  and  was  compelled  to  speak, 
in  order  to  announce  his  presence. 

"  I  have  received  your  summons,  by  Job,"  he  said,  "  and  have 
obeyed  it." 

"  'Tis  well,"  returned  Ralph. 
Perhaps  I  should  add,  that  I  have  been  an  astonished  wit- 
ness of  your  interview  with  Mrs.  Lechmere,  and  have  heard  the 
bold  and  unaccountable  language  you  have  seen  proper  to  use 
to  that  lady." 

The  old  man  now  raised  his  head,  and  Lionel  saw  the  bright 
I'ays  from  his  eyes  quicken,  as  he  answered — 

^•You  then  heard  the  truth,  and  witnessed  its  effects  on  & 
o'uilty  conscience." 

"  I  also  heard  what  you  call  the  truth,  in  connection,  as  you 
know,  with  the  names  most  dear  to  me." 

"  Art  certain  of  it,  boy  ?"  returned  Ralph,  looking  the  other 
steadily  in  the  f*ice ;  "  has  no  other  become  dearer  to  you,  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLK. 


177 


late,  than  the  authors  of  your  being  ?  Speak,  and  remember 
that  you  answer  one  of  no  common  knowledge." 

"  What  mean  you,  sir  ?  is  it  in  nature  to  love  any  as  we  do 
a  parent  ?" 

"Away  with  this  childish  simplicity,"  continued  the  other, 
sternly ;  "  the  grandchild  of  that  wretched  woman  below — do 
you  not  love  her,  and  can  I  put  trust  in  thee  ?" 

"  What  trust  is  there  incompatible  with  affection  for  a  being 
so  pure  as  Cecil  Dynevor  ?" 

"  Ay,"  murmured  the  old  man  in  an  under-tone,  "  her  mother 
was  pure,  and  why  may  not  the  child  be  worthy  of  its  parentage  ?" 
He  paused,  and  a  long,  and,  on  the  part  of  Lionel,  a  painful 
and  embarrassing  silence  succeeded,  which  was  at  length  broken 
by  Ralph,  who  said,  abruptly — "  You  were  in  the  field  to-day, 
Major  Lincoln." 

"  Of  that  you  must  be  certain,  as  I  owe  my  life  to  your 
kind  interposition.  But  why  have  you  braved  the  danger  of  an 
arrest,  by  trusting  your  person  in  the  power  of  the  troops  ? 
Your  presence  and  activity  among  the  Americans  must  be 
known  to  many  in  the  army  besides  myself." 

"  And  would  they  think  of  searching  for  their  enemies  within 
the  streets  of  Boston,  when  the  hills  without  are  filling  with 
armed  men  ?  My  residence  in  this  building  is  known  only  to 
the  woman  below,  who  dare  not  betray  me,  her  worthy  son, 
and  to  you.  My  movements  are  secret  and  sudden,  when  men 
least  expect  them.    Danger  cannot  touch  such  as  1." 

"  But,"  said  Lionel,  hesitating  with  embarrassment,  "  ought 
I  to  conceal  the  presence  of  one  whom  I  know  to  be  inimical 
to  my  king  ?" 

"  Lionel  Lincoln,  you  overrate  your  courage,"  interrupted 
Ralph,  smiling  in  scorn.  "You  dare  not  shed  the  blood  of 
him  who  has  spared  your  own.  But  enough  of  this  :  we  un- 
derstand each  other,  and  one  old  as  I  should  be  a  stranirer  to 
fear." 

"  No,  DO,"  said  a  low  solemn  voice,  from  a  dark  corner  of 


173 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


the  apartment,  where  Job  had  stolen  unseen,  and  was  now 
nestled  in  security  :  "  you  can't  frighten  Ralph." 

"  The  boy  is  a  worthy  boy,  and  he  knows  good  from  evil ; 
what  more  is  necessary  to  man  in  this  wicked  world  f '  mut- 
tered Ealph,  in  those  quick  and  indistinct  tones  that  character- 
ized his  manner. 

"  Whence  came  you,  fellow,  and  why  did  you  abandon  me 
so  abruptly  ?"  demanded  Lionel. 

"  Job  has  just  been  into  the  market,  to  see  if  he  couldn't  find 
something  that  might  be  good  for  Nab,"  returned  the  lad. 

"  Think  not  to  impose  on  me  with  this  nonsense  !  Is  food  to 
be  purchased  at  any  hour  of  the  night,  though  you  had  the 
means  ?" 

"  Now  that  is  convincing  the  king's  officers  don't  know  every 
thing,"  said  the  simpleton,  laughing  within  himself.  "  Here's 
as  good  a  pound-bill,  old  tenor,  as  was  ever  granted  by  the  Bay 
colony;  and  meat's  no  such  rarity,  that  a  man,  who  has  a 
pound-bill,  old  tenor,  in  his  pocket,  can't  go  under  old  Funnel 
when  he  pleases,  for  all  their  acts  of  Parliament." 

"  You  have  plundered  the  dead !"  cried  Lionel,  observing 
that  Job  exhibited  in  his  hand  several  pieces  of  silver,  besides 
the  note  he  had  mentioned. 

"  Don't  call  Job  a  thief !"  said  the  lad,  with  a  threatening 
air  :  "  there's  law  in  the  Bay  yet,  though  the  people  don't  use 
it ;  and  right  will  be  done  to  all,  when  the  time  comes.  Job 
shot  a  granny,  but  he's  no  thief." 

"  You  were,  then,  paid  for  your  secret  errand,  last  night,  fool- 
ish boy,  and  have  been  tempted  to  run  into  danger  by  money. 
Let  it  be  the  last  time.  In  future,  when  you  want,  come  to  me 
for  assistance." 

"  Job  won't  go  of  a'r'nds  for  the  king,  if  he'd  give  him  his 
golden  crown,  with  all  its  di'monds  and  flauntiness,  unless  Job 
pleases,  for  there's  no  law  for  it." 

Lionel,  with  a  view  to  appease  the  irritated  lad,  now  made  a 
few  kind  and  conciliating  remarks,  but  the  changeling  did  not 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


179 


deign  to  reply,  falling  back  in  his  corner  in  a  sullen  manner,  as 
if  he  would  repair  the  fatigue  of  the  day  by  a  few  moments  of 
sleep.  In  the  mean  time,  Ralph  had  sunk  into  a  profound 
revery,  when  the  young  soldier  remembered  that  the  hour  was 
late,  and  he  had  yet  obtained  no  explanation  of  the  mysterious 
charges.  He  therefore  alluded  to  the  subject  in  a  manner 
which  he  thought  best  adapted  to  obtain  the  desired  intelli- 
gence. The  instant  Lionel  mentioned  the  agitation  of  his  aunt, 
his  companion  raised  his  head  again,  and  a  smile  like  that  of 
fierce  exultation  lighted  the  wan  face  of  the  old  man,  who 
answered,  j^ointing  with  an  emphatic  gesture  to  his  own 
bosom— 

"  'Twas  here,  boy — 'twas  here.  Nothing  short  of  the  power 
of  conscience,  and  a  knowledge  like  that  of  mine,  could  strike 
that  woman  speechless  in  the  presence  of  any  thing  human." 

"  But  what  is  this  extraordinary  knowledge  ?  I  am  in  some 
degree  the  natural  protector  of  Mrs.  Lechmere ;  and,  independ- 
ent of  my  individual  interest  in  your  secret,  have  a  right,  in  her 
behalf,  to  require  an  explanation  of  such  serious  allegations." 

"  In  her  behalf !"  repeated  Ralph.  "  Wait,  impetuous  young 
man,  until  she  bids  you  push  the  inquiry :  it  shall  then  be  an- 
swered, in  a  voice  of  thunder." 

"  If  not  in  justice  to  my  aged  aunt,  at  least  remember  your 
repeated  promises  to  unfold  that  sad  tale  of  my  own  domestic 
sorrows,  of  which  you  claim  to  be  the  master." 

"  Ay,  of  that,  and  much  more,  am  I  in  possession,"  returned 
the  old  man,  smiling,  as  if  conscious  of  his  knowledge  and 
power.  "  If  you  doubt  it,  descend  and  ask  the  miserable  ten- 
ant of  this  warehouse,  or  the  guilty  widow  of  John  Lech- 
mere." 

"  Nay,  I  doubt  nothing  but  my  own  patience  ;  the  moments 
tly  swiftly,  and  I  have  yet  to  learn  all  I  wish  to  know." 

"  This  is  neither  the  time,  nor  is  it  the  place,  where  you  are 
to  hear  the  tale,"  returned  Ralph.  "  I  have  already  said  that 
we  shall  meet  beyond  the  colleges  for  that  purpose." 


180 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  But  after  the  events  of  this  day,  who  can  tell  wlien  it  will 
be  in  the  power  of  an  officer  of  the  crown  to  visit  the  colleges 
in  safety 

"  What !"  cried  the  old  man,  laughing  aloud,  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  scorn,  has  the  boy  found  the  strength  and  the  will 
of  the  despised  colonists  so  soon  !  But  I  pledge  to  thee  my 
word,  that  thou  shalt  yet  see  the  place,  and  in  safety.  Yes, 
yes,  Priscilla  Lechmere,  thy  hour  is  at  hand,  and  thy  doom  is 
sealed  forever  !" 

Lionel  again  mentioned  his  aunt,  and  alluded  to  the  necessity 
of  his  soon  rejoining  her,  as  he  already  heard  footsteps  below, 
which  indicated  that  preparations  were  making  for  her  depart- 
ure. But  his  petitions  and  remonstrances  were  now  totally  un- 
heeded :  his  aged  companion  was  pacing  swiftly  up  and  down 
his  small  apartment,  muttering  incoherent  sentences,  in  which 
the  name  of  Priscilla  was  alone  audible,  and  his  countenance 
betraying  the  inward  workings  of  absorbing  and  fierce  passions. 
In  a  few  moments  more,  the  shrill  voice  of  Abigail  was  heard 
calling  upon  her  son,  in  a  manner  which  plainly  denoted  her 
knowledge  that  the  changeling  was  concealed  somewhere  about 
the  building.  Job  heard  her  calls  repeated,  until  the  tones  of 
her  voice  became  angry  and  threatening,  when  he  stole  slowly 
from  his  corner,  and  moved  towards  the  ladder,  with  a  sunken 
brow  and  lingering  steps.  Lionel  now  knew  not  how  to  act. 
His  aunt  was  still  ignorant  of  his  presence,  and  he  thought  if 
Abigail  Pray  had  wished  him  to  appear,  he  w^ould  in  some 
manner  be  soon  included  in  the  summons.  He  had  also  his 
own  secret  reasons  for  wishing  his  visits  to  Ealph  unknown. 
Accordingly,  he  determined  to  watch  the  movements  below, 
under  the  favor  of  the  darkness,  and  to  be  governed  entirely  by 
circumstances.  He  took  no  leave  of  his  companion  on  depart- 
in  2:,  for  lona'  use  had  so  far  accustomed  him  to  the  eccentric 
manner  of  the  old  man,  that  he  well  kuew  any  attempt  to  divert 
his  attention  from  his  burning  thoughts  would  be  futile  at  a 
moment  of  such  intense  excitement. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


181 


From  tlie  liead  of  tlie  ladder,  wliere  Lionel  took  his  stand,  he 
saw  Mrs.  Lechmere,  preceded  by  Job  with  a  lantern,  walking, 
with  a  firmer  step  than  he  could  have  hoped  for,  towards  the 
door,  and  he  overheard  Abigail  cautioning  her  wilful  son  to 
light  her  visitor  to  a  neighboring  corner,  where  it  appeared  a 
conveyance  was  in  waiting.  On  the  threshold,  his  aunt  turned, 
and,  the  light  from  the  candle  of  Abigail  falling  on  her  fea- 
tures, Lionel  caught  a  full  view  of  her  cold,  hard  eye,  which  had 
regained  all  its  worldly  expression,  though  softened  a  little  by 
a  deeper  shade  of  thought  than  usual. 

"  Let  the  scene  of  to-night  be  forgotten,  my  good  Abigail," 
she  said.  "  Your  lodger  is  a  nameless  being,  who  has  gleaned 
some  idle  tale,  and  wishes  to  practise  on  onr  credulity  to  enrich 
himself.  I  will  consider  more  of  it ;  but  on  no  account  do  you 
hold  any  further  communion  with  him.  I  must  remove  you, 
my  trusty  woman  ;  this  habitation  is  unworthy  of  you,  and  of 
your  dutiful  son,  too.  I  must  see  you  better  lodged,  my  good 
Abigail — indeed  I  must." 

Lionel  could  distinguish  the  slight  shudder  that  passed 
through  the  frame  of  her  companion,  as  she  alluded  to  the 
doubtful  character  of  Kalph ;  but,  without  answering,  Abigail 
held  the  door  open  for  the  departure  of  her  guest.  The  instant 
Mrs.  Lechmere  disappeared,  Lionel  glided  down  the  ladder,  and 
stood  before  the  astonished  woman. 

"  When  I  tell  you  I  have  heard  all  that  passed  to-night,"  he 
abruptly  said,  "  you  will  see  the  folly  of  any  further  attempt 
at  concealment.  I  now  demand  so  much  of  your  secret  as 
affects  the  happiness  of  me  or  mine." 

"  "N'o — no — not  of  me.  Major  Lincoln,"  said  the  terrified  fe- 
male ;  "  not  of  me,  for  the  love  of  God,  not  of  me  :  I  have 
sworn  to  keep  it,  and  one  oath — "  Her  emotions  choked  her, 
and  her  voice  became  indistinct. 

Lionel  regretted  his  vehemence,  and,  ashamed  to  extort  a 
confession  from  a  woman,  he  attempted  to  pacify  her  feelings, 
promising  to  require  no  further  communication  at  that  time. 


182 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Go — go,"  she  said,  motioning  him  to  depart,  "  and  I  shall 
be  well  again.  Leave  me,  and  then  I  shall  be  alone  with  that 
terrible  old  man,  and  my  God !" 

Perceiving  her  earnestness,  he  reluctantly  complied,  and, 
meeting  Job  on  the  threshold,  he  ceased  to  feel  any  further  un- 
easiness for  her  safety. 

During  his  rapid  walk  to  Tremont-street,  Major  Lincoln 
thought  intently  on  all  he  had  heard  and  witnessed.  He  re- 
membered the  communications  by  which  Ealph  had  attained 
such  a  powerful  interest  in  his  feelings,  and  he  fancied  he  could 
discover  a  pledge  of  the  truth  of  the  old  man's  knowledge  in 
the  guilt  betrayed  by  the  manner  of  his  aunt.  From  Mrs. 
Lechmere  his  thoughts  recurred  to  her  lovely  grandchild,  and 
for  a  moment  he  was  perplexed,  by  endeavoring  to  explain  her 
contradictory  deportment  towards  himself:  at  one  time  she  was 
warm,  frank,  and  even  affectionate ;  and  at  another,  as  in  the 
short  and  private  interview  of  that  very  evening,  cold,  con- 
strained, and  repulsive.  Then,  again,  he  recollected  the  object 
which  had  chiefly  induced  him  to  follow  his  regiment  to  his 
native  country ;  and  the  recollection  was  attended  by  that  shade 
of  dejection  which  such  reflections  never  failed  to  cast  across 
his  intelligent  features.  On  reaching  the  house,  he  ascertained 
the  safe  return  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  who  had  already  retired  to 
her  room,  attended  by  her  lovely  relatives.  Lionel  immediately 
followed  their  example ;  and  as  the  excitement  of  that  memo- 
rable and  busy  day  subsided,  it  was  succeeded  by  a  deep  sleep, 
that  fell  on  his  senses  like  the  forgetfulness  of  the  dead. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


183 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

"  Now  let  it  work :  Mischief,  thou  art  afoot : 
Take  thou  what  course  thou  wilt  I" 

Shakspeaee. 

The  alarm  of  the  inroad  passed  swiftly  by  tlie  low  shores  of 
the  Atlantic,  and  was  heard  echoing  among  the  rugged  moun- 
tains west  of  the  rivers,  as  if  borne  along  on  a  whirlwind.  The 
male  population,  between  the  rolling  waters  of  Massachusetts 
Bay  and  the  limpid  stream  of  the  Connecticut,  rose  as  one  man ; 
and  as  the  cry  of  blood  was  sounded  far  inland,  the  hills  and 
valleys,  the  highways  and  footpaths,  were  seen  covered  with 
bands  of  armed  husbandmen,  pressing  eagerly  towards  the  scene 
of  the  war.  Within  eight-and-forty  hours  after  the  fatal  meet- 
ing at  Lexington,  it  was  calculated  that  more  than  a  hundred 
thousand  men  were  in  arms ;  and  near  one  fourth  of  that  num- 
ber was  gathered  before  the  peninsulas^ of  Boston  and  Charles- 
town.  They  who  were  precluded  by  distance  and  a  want  of 
military  provisions,  to  support  such  a  concourse,  from  partici- 
pating in  the  more  immediate  contest,  lay  by  in  expectation 
of  the  arrival  of  that  moment  when  their  zeal  might  also  be 
put  to  severer  trials.  In  short,  the  sullen  quietude  in  which  the 
colonies  had  been  slumbering  for  a  year,  was  suddenly  and 
rudely  broken  by  the  events  of  that  day ;  and  the  patriotic 
among  the  people  rose  with  such  a  cry  of  indignation  on  their 
lips,  that  the  disaffected,  who  were  no  insignificant  class  in  the 
more  southern  provinces,  were  compelled  to  silence,  until  the 
first  burst  of  revolutionary  excitement  had  an  opportunity  to 
subside,  under  the  never-failing  influence  of  time  and  sufiering. 


184 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Gage,  seoure  in  his  positions,  and  supported  by  a  constantly 
increasing  power,  as  well  as  tlie  presence  of  a  formidable  fleet, 
looked  on  the  gathering  storm  with  a  steady  eye,-  and  with  that 
calmness  which  distinguished  the  mild  benevolence  of  his  private 
character.  Though  the  attitude  and  the  intentions  of  the  Ameri- 
cans could  no  longer  be  mistaken,  he  listened  with  reluctant 
ears  to  the  revengeful  advice  of  his  counsellors,  and  rather  strove 
to  appease  the  tumult  than  to  attempt  crushing  it  by  a  force 
which,  though  a  month  before  it  had  been  thought  equal  to  the 
united  power  of  the  peaceful  colonists,  he  now  prudently  deemed 
no  more  than  competent  to  protect  itself  within  its  watery 
boundaries.  Proclamations  w^ere,  however,  fulminated  against 
the  rebels ;  and  such  other  measures  as  were  thought  indispen- 
sable to  assert  the  dignity  and  authority  of  the  crown,  were 
promptly  adopted.  Of  course,  these  harmless  denunciations 
were  disregarded,  and  all  his  exhortations  to  return  to  an  allegi- 
ance, which  the  people  still  denied  had  ever  been  impaired, 
were  lost  amid  the  din  of  arms,  and  the  popular  cries  of  the 
time.  These  appeals  of  the  British  general,  as  well  as  sundry 
others  made  by  the  royal  governors,  who  yet  held  their  rule 
throughout  all  the  provinces,  except  the  one  in  which  the  scene 
of  our  tale  is  laid,  were  answered  by  the  people  in  humble  but 
manly  petitions  to  the  throne  for  justice ;  and  in  loud  remonstrances 
to  the  Parliament,  requiring  to  be  restored  to  the  possession  of 
those  rights  and  immunities  which  should  be  secured  to  all  who 
enjoyed  the  protection  of  their  common  constitution.  Still  the 
power  and  prerogatives  of  the  prince  were  deeply  respected, 
and  were  alluded  to  in  all  public  documents,  with  the  veneration 
which  was  thought  due  to  the  sacredness  of  his  character  and 
station.  But  that  biting,  though  grave  sarcasm,  which  the  col- 
onists knew  so  well  how  to  use,  was  freely  expended  on  his 
ministers,  who  were  accused  of  devising  the  measures  so  destruc- 
tive to  the  peace  of  the  empire.  In  this  manner  passed  some 
weeks  after  the  series  of  skirmishes  which  were  called  the  battle 
of  Lexington,  from  the  circumstance  of  commencing  at  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


185 


hamlet  of  that  name,  both  parties  continuing  to  prepare  for  a 
mightier  exhibition  of  their  power  and  daring. 

Lionel  had  by  no  means  been  an  unconcerned  spectator  of 
these  preparations.  The  moi'ning  after  the  return  of  the  detach- 
ment, he  apphed  for  a  command,  equal  to  his  just  expectations. 
But  while  he  was  complimented  on  the  spirit  and  loyalty  he 
had  manifested  on  the  late  occasion,  it  was  intimated  to  the 
young  man  that  he  might  be  of  more  service  to  the  cause  of 
his  prince,  by  devoting  his  time  to  the  cultivation  of  his  interest 
among  those  powerful  colonists  with,  whom  his  family  was  allied 
by  blood,  or  connected  by  long  and  close  intimacies.  It  was 
even  submitted  to  his  oym  judgment  whether  it  would  not  be 
well,  at  some  auspicious  moment,  to  trust  his  person  without 
the  defences  of  the  army,  in  the  prosecution  of  this  commend- 
able design.  There  w^as  so  much  that  was  flattering  to  the  self- 
love,  and  soothing  to  the  pride  of  the  young  soldier,  artfully 
mingled  v/ith  these  ambiguous  proposals,  that  he  became  con- 
tent to  await  the  course  of  events,  having,  however,  secured  a 
promise  of  obtaining  a  suitable  military  command  in  the  case 
of  further  hostilities.  That  such  an  event  was  at  hand,  could 
not  well  be  concealed  from  one  much  less  observing  than  Major 
Lincoln. 

Gage  had  already  abandoned  his  temporary  position  in 
Charlestown,  for  the  sake  of  procuring  additional  security  by 
concentrating  his  force.  From  the  hills  of  the  peninsula  of 
Boston,  it  was  apparent  that  the  colonists  were  fast  assuming 
the  front  of  men  who  were  resolved  to  beleaguer  the  army  of 
the  king.  Many  of  the  opposite  heights  were  already  crowned 
with  hasty-formed  works  of  earth,  and  a  formidable  body  of 
these  unpractised  warriors  had  set  themselves  boldly  down  be- 
fore the  entrance  to  the  isthmus,  cutting  off  all  communication 
with  the  adjacent  country,  and  occupying  the  little  village  of 
Roxbury,  directly  before  the  muzzles  of  the  British  guns,  with 
a  hardiness  that  would  not  have  disgraced  men  much  longer 
tiied  in  the  field,  and  more  inured  to  its  dangers. 


186 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


The  surprise  created  in  tlie  army  by  these  appear&nces  of  skill 
and  spirit  araong  the  hitherto  despised  Americans,  in  some  meas- 
ure ceased  when  the  rumor  spread  itself  in  their  camp,  that 
many  gentlemen  of  the  provinces,  who  had  served  with  credit 
in  the  forces  of  the  crown,  at  former  periods,  were  mingled  with 
the  people  in  stations  of  responsibility  and  command.  Among 
others  Lionel  heard  the  names  of  Ward  and  Thomas ;  men  of 
liberal  attainments,  and  of  some  experience  in  arms.  Both  were 
regularly  commissioned  by  the  congress  of  the  colony  as  leaders 
of  their  forces  ;  and  under  their  orders  were  numerous  regi- 
ments duly  organized,  possessing  all  the  necessary  qualifica- 
tions of  soldiers,  excepting  the  two  indispensable  requisites  of  disci- 
pline and  arms.  Lionel  heard  the  name  of  Warren  mentioned 
oftener  than  any  other  in  the  circles  of  Province  House,  and 
with  that  sort  of  bitterness,  which,  even  while  it  bespoke  their 
animosity,  betrayed  the  respect  of  his  enemies.  This  gentle- 
man, who  until  the  last  moment  had  braved  the  presence  of  the 
royal  troops,  and  fearlessly  advocated  his  principles,  while  en- 
circled with  their  bayonets,  was  now  known  to  have  suddenly 
disappeared  from  among  them,  abandoning  home,  property,  and 
a  lucrative  profession ;  and  by  sharing  in  the  closing  scenes  of 
the  day  of  Lexington,  to  have  fairly  cast  his  fortunes  on  the 
struggle.  But  the  name  which  in  secret  possessed  the  greatest 
charm  for  the  ear  of  the  young  British  soldier,  was  that  of 
Putnam,  a  yeoman  of  the  neighboring  colony  of  Connecticut, 
who,  as  the  uproar  of  the  alarm  whirled  by  him,  literally  de- 
serted his  plough,  and  mounting  a  beast  from  its  team,  made  an 
early  halt,  after  a  forced  march  of  a  hundred  miles,  in  the  fore- 
most ranks  of  his  countrymen.  While  the  name  of  this  sturdy 
American  was  passing  in  whispers  among  the  veterans  who 
crowded  the  levees  of  Gage,  a  flood  of  melancholy  and  tender 
recollections  flashed  through  the  brain  of  the  young  man.  He 
remembered  the  frequent  and  interesting  communications  which, 
in  his  boyhood,  he  had  held  with  his  own  father,  before  the 
dark  shade  had  passed  across  the  reason  of  Sir  Lionel,  and,  in 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


137 


every  tale  of  murderous  combats  with  the  savage  tenants  of  the 
wilds,  in  each  scene  of  danger  and  of  daring  that  had  distin- 
guished the  romantic  warfare  of  the  wilderness,  and  even  in 
strange  and  fearful  encounters  with  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  the 
name  of  this  man  was  blended  with  a  species  of  chivalrous 
fame  that  is  seldom  obtained  in  an  enlightened  age,  and  never 
undeservedly.  The  great  wealth  of  the  family  of  Lincoln,  and 
the  high  expectations  of  its  heir,  had  obtained  for  the  latter  a 
military  rank  which  at  that  period  was  rarely  enjoyed  by  any 
but  such  as  had  bought  the  distinction  by  long  and  arduous 
services.  Consequently,  many  of  his  equals  had  shared  in  those 
trials  of  his  father,  in  which  the  *  Lion  heart'  of  America  had 
been  so  conspicuous  for  his  deeds.  By  these  grave  veterans, 
v/ho  should  know  him  best,  the  name  of  Putnam  was  always 
mentioned  with  strong  and  romantic  affection ;  and  when  the 
notable  scheme  of  detaching  him,  by  the  promise  of  office 
and  wealth,  from  the  cause  of  the  colonists  was  proposed  by  the 
cringing  counsellors  who  surrounded  the  commander-in-chief,  it 
was  listened  to  with  a  contemptuous  incredulity  by  the  former 
associates  of  the  old  partisan,  that  the  result  of  the  plan  fully 
justified.  Similar  inducements  were  offered  to  others  among 
the  Americans,  whose  talents  were  thought  worthy  of  purchase ; 
but  so  deep  root  had  the  principles  of  the  day  taken,  that  not  a 
man  of  any  note  was  found  to  listen  to  the  proposition. 

While  these  subtle  experiments  were  adopted  in  the  room  of 
more  energetic  measures,  troops  continued  to  arrive  from  Eng- 
land, and,  before  the  end  of  May,  many  leaders  of  renown  ap- 
peared in  the  councils  of  Gage,  who  now  possessed  a  disposable 
force  of  not  less  than  eight  thousand  bayonets.  With  the  ap- 
pearance of  these  reinforcements,  the  fallen  pride  of  the  army 
began  to  revive ;  and  the  spirits  of  the  haughty  young  men, 
who  had  so  recently  left  the  gay  parades  of  their  boasted  island, 
were  chafed  by  the  reflection  that  such  an  army  should  be 
cooped  within  the  narrow  limits  of  the  peninsula  by  a  band  of 
lialf-armed  husbandmen,  destitute  alike  of  the  knowledge  of 


188 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


war,  and  of  most  of  its  munitions.  This  feeling  was  increased 
by  tlie  taunts  of  tlie  Americans  themselves,  who  now  turned 
the  tables  on  their  adversaries,  applying,  among  otlier  sneers, 
the  term  of  "  elbow-room"  freely  to  Burgoyne,  one  of  those  chief- 
tains of  the  royal  army,  who  had  boasted  unwittingly  of  the  in- 
tention of  himself  and  his  compeers  to  widen  the  limits  of  the 
army  immeuiately  on  their  arrival  at  the  scene  of  the  contest. 
The  aspect  of  things  within  the  British  camp  began  to  indicate, 
however,  that  their  leaders  were  serious  in  the  intention  to  ex- 
tend their  possessions,  and  all  eyes  were  again  turned  to  the 
heights  of  Charlestown,  the  spot  most  likely  to  be  first  occupied. 

JSTo  military  positions  could  be  more  happily  situated,  as  re- 
spects locality,  to  support  each  other,  and  to  extend  and  weaken 
the  lines  of  their  enemies,  than  the  two  opposite  peninsulas  so 
often  mentioned.  The  distance  between  them  was  but  six  hun- 
dred yards,  and  the  deep  and  navigable  waters,  by  which  they 
w^ere  nearly  surrounded,  rendered  it  easy  for  the  royal  general 
to  command,  at  any  time,  the  assistance  of  the  heaviest  vessels 
of  the  fleet,  in  defending  either  place.  "With  these  advantages 
before  them,  the  army  gladly  heard  those  orders  issued,  which, 
it  was  well  understood,  indicated  an  approaching  movement  to 
the  opposite  shores. 

It  w^as  now  eight  weeks  since  the  commencement  of  hostili- 
ties, and  the  war  had  been  confined  to  the  preparations  detailed, 
with  the  exception  of  one  or  two  sharp  skirmishes  on  the  islands 
of  the  harbor,  between  the  foragers  of  the  army  and  small 
parties  of  the  Americans,  in  which  the  latter  well  maintained 
their  newly  acquired  reputation  for  spirit. 

With  the  arrival  of  the  regiments  from  England,  gayety  had 
once  more  visited  the  town,  though  such  of  the  inhabitants  as 
were  compelled  to  remain  against  their  inclinations,  continued 
to  maintain  that  cold  reserve,  in  their  deportment,  which  efiec- 
tually  repelled  all  the  efforts  of  the  ofiScers  to  include  them  in 
the  wanton  festivities  of  the  time.  There  were  a  few,  however, 
among  the  colonists,  who  had  been  bribed,  by  officers  and 


LIONEL  LIKCOLN. 


189 


emoluments,  to  desert  the  good  cause  of  the  land ;  and  as  some 
of  these  had  already  been  rewarded  by  offices  which  gave  them 
access  to  the  ear  of  the  royal  governor,  he  was  thought  to  be 
unduly  and  unhappily  influenced  by  the  pernicious  counsels 
with  which  they  poisoned  his  mind,  and  prepared  him  for  acts 
of  injustice  and  harshness,  that  both  his  unbiased  feelings  and 
ordinary  opinions  would  have  condemned.  A  few  days  suc- 
ceeding the  affair  of  Lexington,  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants 
,had  been  convened,  and  a  solemn  compact  was  made  between 
them  and  the  governor,  that  such  ns  chose  to  deliver  up  their 
arms  might  leave  the  place,  while  the  remainder  were  promised 
a  suitable  protection  in  their  own  dwellings.  The  arms  were 
delivered,  but  that  part  of  the  conditions  which  related  to  the 
removal  of  the  inhabitants  was  violated  under  shght  and  insuf- 
ficient pretexts.  This,  and  various  other  causes  incidental  to 
military  rule,  embittered  the  feelings  of  the  people,  and  furnished 
new  causes  of  complaint ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  hatred  was 
rapidly  usurping  the  place  of  contempt,  in  the  breasts  of  those 
who  had  been  compelled  to  change  their  sentiments  with  re- 
spect to  a  people  that  they  could  never  love.  In  this  manner, 
resentment  and  distrust  existed,  with  all  the  violence  of  person- , 
ality,  within  the  place  itself,  affording  an  additional  reason  to 
the  troops  for  wishing  to  extend  their  limits.  Notwithstanding 
these  inauspicious  omens  of  the  character  of  the  contest,  the 
native  kindness  of  Gage,  and  perhaps  a  desire  to  rescue  a  few  of 
his  own  men  from  the  hands  of  the  colonists,  induced  him  to 
consent  to  an  exchange  of  the  prisoners  made  in  the  inroad ; 
thus  establishing,  in  the  outset,  a  precedent  to  distinguish  the 
controversy  from  an  ordinary  rebellion  against  the  loyal  authority 
of  the  sovereign.  A  meeting  was  held,  for  this  purpose,  in  the 
village  of  Charlestown,  at  that  time  unoccupied  by  either  army. 
At  the  head  of  the  American  deputation  appeared  Warren,  and 
the  old  partisan  of  the  wilderness  already  mentioned,  w^ho,  by  a 
happy,  though  not  uncommon  constitution  of  temperament,  was 
as  forward  in  deeds  of  charity  as  in  those  of  daring.    At  this 


190 


LIOISEL  LINCOLN. 


interview,  several  of  the  veterans  of  the  royal  army  were  present, 
having  passed  the  strait  to  hold  a  last,  friendly  converse  with 
their  ancient  comrade,  who  received  them  with  the  frankness  of 
1  soldier,  while  he  rejected  their  subtle  endeavors  to  entice  him 
from  the  banners  under  which  he  had  enlisted,  with  a  sturdi- 
ness  as  unpretending  as  it  was  inflexible. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  at  the  great  scene  of  the 
contest,  the  hum  of  preparation  was  to  be  heard  throughout  the 
whole  of  the  wide  extent  of  the  colonies.  In  various  places 
slight  acts  of  hostility  were  committed,  the  Americans  no  longer 
waiting  for  the  British  to  be  the  aggressors,  and  everywhere 
such  military  stores  as  could  be  reached,  were  seized,  peaceably 
or  by  violence,  as  the  case  required.  The  concentration  of  most 
of  the  troops  in  Boston  had,  however,  left  the  other  colonies 
comparatively  but  httle  to  achieve,  though,  while  they  still 
rested,  nominally,  under  the  dominion  of  the  crown,  they  neg- 
lected no  means  within  their  power  to  assert  their  rights  in  the 
last  extremity. 

At  Philadelphia,  "  the  Congress  of  the  Delegates  from  the 
United  Colonies,"  the  body  that  controlled  the  great  move- 
ments of  a  people  who  now  first  began  to  act  as  a  distinct  na- 
tion, issued  their  manifestoes,  supporting,  in  a  masterly  manner, 
their  principles,  and  proceeded  to  organize  an  army  that  should 
be  as  competent  to  maintain  them  as  circumstances  would  al- 
low. Gentlemen  who  had  been  trained  to  arms  in  the  service 
of  the  king,  were  invited  to  resort  to  their  banners,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  vacancies  were  filled  by  the  names  of  the  youth- 
ful, the  bold,  and  adventurous,  who  were  willing  to  risk  their 
lives  in  a  cause  where  even  success  promised  so  little  personal 
advantage.  At  the  head  of  this  list  of  untrained  warriors,  the 
congress  placed  one  of  their  own  body,  a  man  already  distin- 
guished for  his  services  in  the  field,  and  who  has  since  be- 
<peathed  to  his  country  the  glory  of  an  untarnished  name 


LJONJEL  LINCOLN. 


191 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  Thou  Shalt  meet  me  at  Philippi." 

Julius  C^ab. 

During  tliis  period  of  feverisli  excitement,  wliile  the  aj)pear- 
ance  and  privations  of  war  existed  with  so  little  of  its  danger  or 
its  action,  Lionel  had  not  altogether  forgotten  his  personal  feel- 
ings, in  the  powerful  interest  created  by  the  state  of  public 
affairs.  Early  on  the  morning  succeeding  the  night  of  the 
scene  between  Mrs.  Lechmere  and  the  inmates  of  the  ware- 
house, he  had  repaired  again  to  the  spot,  to  relieve  the  intense 
anxiety  of  his  mind,  by  seeking  a  complete  explanation  of  all 
those  mysteries  which  had  been  the  principal  ligament  that 
bound  him  to  a  man,  little  known,  except  for  his  singulari- 
ties. 

The  effects  of  the  preceding  day's  battle  were  already  visible 
in  the  market-place,  where,  as  Lionel  passed,  he  saw  few  or 
none  of  the  countrymen  who  usually  crowded  the  square  at 
that  hour.  Li  fact,  the  windows  of  the  shops  were  opened 
with  caution,  and  men  looked  out  upon  the  face  of  the  sun  as 
if  doubting  of  its  appearance  and  warmth,  as  in  seasons  of  ordi- 
nary quiet ;  jealousy  and  distrust  having  completely  usurped 
the  place  of  security  within  the  streets  of  the  town.  Not- 
withstanding the  hour,  few  were  in  their  beds,  and  those  who 
appeared  betrayed  by  their  looks  that  they  had  passed  the 
night  in  watchfulness.  Among  this  number  was  Abigail  Pray, 
who  received  her  guest  in  her  little  tower,  surrounded  by  every 
thing  as  he  had  seen  it  on  the  past  evening,  nothing  altered, 
except  her  own  dark  eye,  which  at  times  looked  like  a  gem  of 
price  set  in  her  squalid  features,  but  which  now  appeared  hag- 


102 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


gard  and  sunken,  pai-ticipating,  more  markedly  than  con>moD, 
in  the  general  air  of  misery  that  pervaded  the  woman. 

"  I  have  intruded  at  a  somewhat  unusual  hour,  Mrs.  Pray," 
said  Lionel,  as  he  entered ;  "  but  business  of  the  last  moment 
requires  that  I  should  see  your  lodger.  I  suppose  he  is  above  : 
it  will  be  well  to  announce  my  visit." 

Abigail  shook  her  head  with  an  air  of  solemn  meaning,  as 
she  answered,  in  a  subdued  voice,  "  He  is  gone !" 

"  Gone  !"  exclaimed  Lionel.    "  Whither,  and  when  ?" 

"  The  people  seem  visited  by  the  wrath  of  God,  sir,"  returned 
the  woman.  "  Old  and  young,  the  sick  and  well,  are  cra^y 
about  the  shedding  of  blood ;  and  it's  beyond  the  might  of  man 
to  say  where  the  torrent  will  be  stayed." 

"  But  what  has  this  to  do  with  Ealph  ?  Where  is  he  ?  Wo- 
man, you  are  not  playing  me  false  ?" 

"  I !  Heaven  forbid  that  I  should  ever  be  false  again  !  and 
to  you  least  of  all  God's  creatures  !  ISTo,  no.  Major  Lincoln ; 
the  wonderful  man,  who  seems  to  have  lived  so  long  that  he 
can  even  read  our  secret  thoughts,  as  I  had  supposed  man  could 
never  read  them,  has  left  me,  and  I  know  not  whether  he  will 
ever  return." 

"  Ever  !  You  have  not  driven  him  by  violence  from  under 
your  miserable  roof  ?" 

"  My  roof  is  like  that  of  the  fowls  of  the  air — 'tis  the  roof  of 
any  who  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  need  it.  There  is  no  spot  on 
earth,  Major  Lincoln,  that  I  can  call  mine  :  but  one  day  there 
^vill  be  one — yes,  yes,  there  will  be  a  narrow  house  provided 
for  us  all ;  and  God  grant  that  mine  may  be  as  quiet  as  the 
coffin  is  said  to  be  !  I  lie  not,  Major  Lincoln — no,  this  time  I 
am  innocent  of  deceit — Ralph  and  Job  have  gone  together,  but 
whither  I  know  not,  unless  it  be  to  join  the  people  without  the 
town.  They  left  me  as  the  moon  rose,  and  he  gave  me  a  part- 
ing and  a  warning  voice,  that  will  ring  in  my  ears  until  they 
are  deafened  by  the  damps  of  the  grave  !" 

"  Gone  to  join  the  Americans,  and  with  Job  !"  returned  Lio- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


193 


nel,  musing,  and  without  attending  to  tlie  closing  words  of  Abi- 
gail. "  Your  boy  will  purchase  peril  with  this  madness,  Mrs. 
Pray,  and  should  be  looked  to." 

"  Job  is  not  one  of  God's  accountables,  nor  is  he  to  be  treated 
like  other  children,"  returned  the  woman.  "  Ah  !  Major  Lin- 
coln, a  healthier,  and  a  stouter,  and  a  finer  boy  was  not  to  be 
seen  in  the  Bay  province,  till  the  child  had  reached  his  fifth 
year ;  then,  then  it  was  that  the  judgment  of  Heaven  fell  on 
mother  and  son — sickness  made  him  what  you  see,  a  being 
with  the  form,  but  without  the  reason  of  man,  and  I  have 
grown  the  wretch  I  am.  But  it  has  all  been  foretold,  and 
warnings  enough  have  I  had  of  it  all ;  for  is  it  not  said,  that 
He  *  will  visit  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  until 
the  third  and  fourth  generation  V  Thank  God,  my  sorrows 
and  sins  will  end  with  Job,  for  there  never  can  be  a  third  to 
suffer  !" 

"  If,"  said  Lionel,  "  there  be  any  sin  which  lies  heavy  at  your 
heart,  every  consideration,  whether  of  justice  or  repentance, 
should  induce  you  to  confess  your  errors  to  those  whose  happi- 
ness may  be  affected  by  the  knowledge,  if  any  such  there  be." 

The  anxious  eye  of  the  woman  raised  itself  to  meet  the  look 
of  the  young  man ;  but,  quailing  before  the  piercing  gaze  it 
encountered,  she  quickly  turned  it  upon  the  litter  and  confusion 
ot  her  disordered  apartment.  Lionel  waited  some  time  for  a 
reply ;  but  finding  that  she  remained  obstinately  silent,  he  con- 
tinued— 

"  From  what  has  already  passed,  you  must  be  conscious  that 
I  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  my  feelings  are  deeply  con- 
cerned in  your  secret ;  make,  then,  your  confession  of  the  guilt 
which  seems  to  bear  you  down  so  heavily;  and  in  return  for  the 
confidence,  I  promise  you  my  forgiveness  and  protection." 

As  Lionel  pressed  thus  directly  the  point  so  near  his  heart, 
the  woman  shrunk  away  from  her  situation  near  him,  and  her 
countenance  lost,  as  he  proceeded,  its  remarkable  expression  of 
compunction,  in  a  forced  look  of  deep  surprise,  that  showed  she 

Q 


104 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


was  no  novice  in  dissimulation,  whatever  miglit  be  the  occa 
sional  warnings  of  her  conscience. 

"  Guilt !"  she  repeated,  in  a  slow  and  tremulous  voice  :  "  we 
are  all  guiltj,  and  would  be  lost  creatures,  but  for  the  blood  of 
the  Mediator." 

"  Most  true.  But  you  have  spoken  of  crimes  that  infringe 
the  laws  of  man,  as  well  as  those  of  God." 

"  I !  Major  Lincoln — I  a  disorderly  law-breaker  !"  exclaimed 
Abigail,  affecting  to  busy  herself  in  arranging  her  apartment. 
"  It  is  not  such  as  I  that  have  leisure  or  courage  to  break  thv3 
laws !  Major  Lincoln  is  trying  a  poor  lone  woman,  to  make 
his  jokes  with  the  gentlemen  of  his  mess  this  evening  :  'tis  cer- 
tain we  all  of  us  have  our  burdens  of  guilt  to  answer  for. 
Surely  Major  Lincoln  couldn't  have  heard  Minister  Hunt  preach 
his  sermon,  the  last  Sabbath,  on  the  sins  of  the  town  !" 

Lionel  colored  highly  at  the  artful  imputation  of  the  woman, 
that  he  was  practising  on  her  sex  and  unprotected  situation ; 
and,  greatly  provoked,  in  secret,  at  her  duplicity,  he  became 
more  guarded  in  his  language,  endeavoring  to  lead  her  on,  by 
kindness  and  soothing,  to  the  desired  communications.  But  all 
his  ingenuity  was  met  by  more  than  equal  abilities  on  the  part 
of  Abigail,  from  whom  he  only  obtained  expressions  of  surprise, 
that  he  could  have  mistaken  her  language  for  more  than  the 
usual  acknowledgment  of  errors,  that  are  admitted  to  be  com- 
mon to  our  lost  nature.  In  this  particular,  the  woman  was  in 
no  respect  singular ;  the  greater  number  of  those  who  are 
loudest  in  their  confessions  and  denunciations  on  the  aban- 
doned nature  of  our  hearts,  commonly  resenting,  in  the  deepest 
manner,  the  imputation  of  individual  offences.  The  more  earn- 
est and  pressing  his  inquiries  became,  the  more  wary  she  grew» 
until,  disgusted  with  her  pertinacity,  and  secretly  suspecting  her 
of  foul  play  with  her  lodger,  he  left  the  house  in  anger,  deter 
mining  to  keep  a  close  eye  on  her  movements,  and,  at  a  suitable 
moment,  to  strike  such  a  blow  as  should  bring  her  not  only  to 
confession,  but  to  shame. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


195 


Under  the  influence  of  this  momentary  resentment,  and  un- 
able to  avoid  harboring  the  most  unpleasant  suspicions  of  his 
aunt,  the  young  man  determined,  that  very  morning,  to  with- 
draw himself  entirely,  as  a  guest,  from  her  dwelhng.  Mrs. 
Lechmere,  who,  if  she  knew  at  all  that  Lionel  had  been  a  wit- 
ness of  her  intercourse  with  Ralph,  must  have  received  the  in- 
telligence from  Abigail,  received  him,  at  breakfast,  with  a  manner 
that  betrayed  no  such  consciousness.  She  listened  to  his  ex- 
cuses for  removing  v/ith  evident  concern  ;  and  more  than  once, 
as  Lionel  spoke  of  the  probable  nature  of  his  future  life,  now 
that  hostilities  had  commenced — the  additional  trouble  his  pres- 
ence would  occasion  to  one  of  her  habits  and  years — of  his 
great  concern  in  her  behalf — and,  in  short,  of  all  that  he  could 
devise  in  the  way  of  apology  for  the  step,  he  saw  her  eyes 
turned  anxiously  on  Cecil  with  an  expression  which,  at  another 
time,  might  have  led  him  to  distrust  the  motives  of  her  hospi- 
tality. The  young  lady  herself,  however,  evidently  heard  the 
proposal  with  great  satisfaction,  and,  when  her  grandmother 
appealed  to  her  opinion,  whether  he  had  urged  a  single  good 
reason  for  the  measure,  she  answered,  with  a  vivacity  that  had 
been  a  stranger  to  her  manner  of  late — 

"  Certainly,  my  dear  grandmamma — the  best  of  all  reasons  : 
his  inclinations.  Major  Lincoln  tires  of  us,  and  of  our  hum- 
drum habits,  and — and  in  my  eyes,  true  politeness  requires  that 
we  should  suffer  him  to  leave  us  for  his  barracks,  without  a  word 
of  remonstrance." 

"  My  motive  must  be  greatly  mistaken,  if  a  desire  to  leave 
vou — " 

"  Oh,  sir,  the  explanation  is  not  required.  You  have  urged 
so  many  reasons,  cousin  Lionel,  that  the  true  and  mo\'ing  mo- 
tive is  yet  kept  behind  the  curtain.  It  must  and  can  be  no  other 
than  ennui.''^ 

"  Then  I  will  remain,"  said  Lionel ;  "  for  any  thing  is  better 
than  to  be  suspected  of  insensibility." 

Cecil  looked  both  gratified  and  disappointed ;  she  played  with 


196 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


her  spoon  a  moment  in  embarrassment,  bit  her  beautiful  lip 
witii  vexation,  and  then  said,  in  a  more  friendly  tone — 
*  "I  must  then  exonerate  you  from  the  imputatiou.  Goto 
your  own  quarters,  if  it  be  agreeable,  and  we  will  believe  your 
incomprehensible  reasons  for  the  change ;  besides,  as  a  kinsman, 
we  shall  see  you  every  day,  you  know." 

Lionel  had  now  no  longer  any  excuse  for  not  abiding  by  his 
avowed  determination ;  and,  notwithstanding  Mrs.  Lechmere 
parted  from  her  interesting  nephew  with  an  exhibition  of  reluc- 
tance that  was  in  singular  contrast  with  her  usually  cold  and 
formal  manner,  the  desired  removal  was  made  in  the  course  of 
that  very  morning. 

When  this  change  was  accomplished,  week  after  week  slipped 
by  in  the  manner  related  in  the  preceding  chapter,  during  which 
the  reinforcements  continued  to  arrive,  and  general  after  general 
appeared  in  the  place  to  support  the  unenterprising  Gage  in  the 
conduct  of  the  war.  The  timid  amongst  the  colonists  were  ap- 
palled as  they  heard  the  long  list  of  proud  and  boasted  names 
recounted.  There  was  Howe,  a  man  sprung  from  a  noble  race, 
long  known  for  their  deeds  in  arms,  and  whose  chief  had  already 
shed  his  blood  on  the  soil  of  America  Clinton,  another  cadet 
of  an  illustrious  house,  better  known  for  his  personal  intrepidity 
and  domestic  kindness,  than  for  the  rough  qualities  of  the  war- 
rior; and  the  elegant  and  accomplished  Burgoyne,  who  had 
already  purchased  a  name  in  the  fields  of  Portugal  and  Ger- 
many, which  he  was  destined  soon  to  lose  in  the  wilds  of  Amer- 
ica. In  addition  to  these  might  be  mentioned  Pigot,  Grant, 
Robertson,  and  the  heir  of  Northumberland,  each  of  whom  led 
a  brigade  in  the  cause  of  his  prince ;  besides  a  host  of  men  of 
lesser  note,  who  had  passed  their  youth  in  arms,  and  were  now 
about  to  bring  their  experience  to  the  field,  in  opposition  to  the 
untrained  husbandmen  of  the  plains  of  New  England.  As  if 
this  list  were  not  sufficient  to  overwhelm  their  inexperienced 
adversaries,  the  pride  of  arms  had  gathered  many  of  the  young 
among  the  noble  and  chivalric  in  the  British  empire,  to  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


197 


point  on  which  all  eyes  were  turned ;  amongst  whom,  the  one 
who  afterwards  added  the  fairest  wreath  to  the  laurels  of  his 
ancestors,  was  the  joint  heir  of  Hastings  and  Moira,  the  gallant, 
but,  as  yet,  untried  boy  of  Rawdon.  Amongst  such  compan- 
ions, many  of  w^hom  had  been  his  associates  in  England,  the 
hours  of  Lionel  passed .  swiftly  by,  leaving  him  but  little  leisure 
to  meditate  on  those  causes  which  had  brought  him  also  to  the 
scene  of  contention. 

One  warm  evening,  towards  the  middle  of  June,  Lionel  be- 
came a  witness  of  the  following  scene,  through  the  open  doors 
which  communicated  between  his  private  apartment  and  the 
room  which  Polwarth  had  dedicated  to  what  he  called  "the 
knowing  mess."  M'Fuse  was  seated  at  a  table,  with  a  ludicrous 
air  of  magisterial  authority,  while  Polwarth  held  a  station  at 
his  side,  which  appeared  to  partake  of  the  double  duties  of  a 
iudge  and  a  scribe.  Before  this  formidable  tribunal  Seth  Sage 
was  arraigned,  as  it  would  seem,  to  answer  for  certain  offences 
alleged  to  have  been  committed  in  the  field  of  battle.  Ignorant 
that  his  landlord  had  not  received  the  benefit  of  the  late  ex- 
change, and  curious  to  know  what  all  the  suppressed  roguery 
he  could  detect  in  the  demure  countenances  of  his  friends  might 
signify,  Lionel  dropped  his  pen,  and  listened  to  the  succeeding 
dialogue. 

"  Now  answer  to  your  offences,  thou  silly  fellow,  with  a  wise 
name,"  M'Fuse  commenced,  in  a  voice  that  did  not  fail,  by  its 
harsh  cadences,  to  create  some  of  that  awe  which,  by  the  ex- 
pression of  the  speaker's  eye,  it  would  seem  he  labored  to  pro- 
duce ;  "  speak  out  with  the  freedom  of  a  man,  and  the  compunc- 
tions of  a  Christian,  if  you  have  them.  Why  should  I  not  send 
you  at  once  to  Ireland,  that  ye  may  get  your  deserts  on  three 
pieces  of  timber,  the  one  being  laid  crosswise  for  the  sake  of 
convenience  ?  If  you  have  a  contrary  reason,  bestow  it  without 
delay,  for  the  love  you  bear  your  own  angular  deformities." 

The  wags  did  not  altogether  fail  in  their  object,  Seth  betray- 
ing a  good  deal  more  uneasiness  than  it  was  usual  for  the  man 


198 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


to  exhibit  even  in  situations  of  uncommon  peril.   After  clearing 
his  throat,  and  looking  about  him,  to  gather  from  the  eyes  of 
the  spectators  which  way  their  sympathies  inclined,  he  answered 
with  a  very  commendable  fortitude — 
"  Because  it's  ag'in  all  law."' 

"  Have  done  with  your  interminable  perplexities  of  the  law," 
cried  M'Fuse,  "  and  do  not  bother  honest  gentlemen  with  its 
knavery,  as  if  they  were  no  more  than  so  many  j)roctors  in  big 
wigs!  'Tis  the  Gospel  you  should  be  thinking  of,  you  godless 
reprobate,  on  account  of  that  final  end  you  will  yet  make,  one 
day,  in  a  most  indecent  hurry." 

"  To  your  purpose,  Mac,"  interrupted  Polwarth,  who  perceived 
that  the  erratic  feelings  of  his  friend  were  beginning  already  to 
lead  him  from  the  desired  point ;  "  or  I  will  propound  the  mat- 
ter myself,  in  a  style  that  would  do  credit  to  a  mandamus 
counsellor." 

"  The  mandamuses  are  all  ag'in  the  charter,  and  the  law  too," 
continued  Seth,  whose  courage  increased  as  the  dialogue  bore 
more  directly  upon  his  political  principles ;  "  and  to  my  mind 
it's  quite  convincing,  that  if  ministers  calculate  largely  on  up- 
holding them,  there  will  be  great  disturbances,  if  not  a  proper 
fight  in  the  land ;  for  the  whole  country  is  in  a  blaze  !" 

"Disturbances,  thou  immovable  iniquity !  thou  quiet  assassin!" 
roared  M'Fuse ;  "  do  ye  not  call  a  light  of  a  day  a  disturbance  ? 
or  do  ye  tarm  skulking  behind  fences,  and  laying  the  muzzle  of 
a  musket  on  the  head  of  Job  Pray,  and  the  breech  on  a  mul- 
lein-stalk, w^hile  ye  draw  upon  a  fellow-creature,  a  commendable 
method  of  fighting  ?  Now  answer  me  to  the  truth,  and  disdain 
all  lying,  as  ye  would  'ating  any  thing  but  cod  on  a  Saturday, 
who  were  the  two  men  that  fired  into  my  very  countenance, 
from  the  unfortunate  situation  among  the  mulleins  that  I  have 
detailed  to  you  ?" 

"  Pardon  me.  Captain  M'Fuse,"  said  Polwarth,  "  if  I  say  that 
your  zeal  and  indignation  run  ahead  of  your  discretion.  If  we 
alarm  the  prisoner  in  this  manner,  we  may  defeat  the  ends  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


199 


justice.  Besides,  sir,  there  is  a  reflection  contained  .in  your  lan- 
guage, to  which  I  must  dissent.  A  real  dumb  is  not  to  be  de- 
spised, especially  when  served  up  in  wrapper,  and  between  two 
coarser  fish,  to  preserve  the  steam.  I  have  had  my  private  medi- 
tations on  the  subject  of  getting  up  a  Saturday's  club,  in  order 
to  enjoy  the  bounty  of  the  Bay,  and  for  improving  the  cookery 
of  the  cod."'^^ 

^'  And  let  me  tell  you.  Captain  Polwarth,"  returned  the  grena- 
dier, cocking  his  eye  fiercely  at  the  other,  "  that  your  epicurean 
propensities  lead  you  to  the  verge  of  cannibalism ;  for  sure  it 
may  be  called  that^  when  you  speak  of  'ating,  while  the  life  of 
a  fellow-cr'ature  is  under  discussion  for  its  termination — " 

"  I  conclude,"  interrupted  Seth,  who  was  greatly  averse  to  all 
quarrelling,  and  who  thought  he  saw  the  symptoms  of  a  breach 
between  his  judges,  "  the  captain  wishes  to  know  who  the  two 
men  w^ere  that  fired  on  him  a  short  time  before  he  got  the  hit 
in  the  shoulder  V 

"  A  short  time,  ye  marvellous  hypocrite  ! — 'twas  as  quick  as 
pop  and  slap  could  make  it." 

"  Perhaps  there  might  be  some  mistake,  for  a  great  many  of 
the  troops  were  much  disguised — " 

"  Do  ye  insinuate  that  I  got  drunk  before  the  enemies  of  my 
king  roared  the  grenadier.  "  Harkye,  Mister  Sage ;  I  ask  you 
in  a  genteel  way,  who  the  two  men  were  that  fired  on  me,  in 
the  manner  detailed ;  and  remember  that  a  man  may  tire  of 
putting  questions  which  are  never  answered." 

"  Why,"  returned  Seth,  who,  however  expert  at  prevarication, 
eschewed,  with  religious  horror,  a  direct  lie,  "  I  pretty  much 
conclude  that  they — the  captain  is  sure  the  place  he  means  was 
just  beyond  Menotomy  V 

*  It  may  be  a  fit  matter  of  inquiry  for  the  antiquarian,  to  learn  whether  the  captain 
ever  put  his  project  in  execution ;  and  if  so,  whether  he  has  not  the  merit  of  founding 
that  famous  association,  which,  to  this  hour,  maintains  the  Cathohc  custom  of  the 
9ast,  by  feasting  on  the  last  day  of  the  week  on  the  staple  of  New  England ;  and  which 
is  said  to  assemble  regularly,  with  much  good-fellowship,  around  more  good  win* 
than  is  ever  encountered  at  any  ether  board  in  the  known  world. 


200 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  As  sure  as  men  can  be,"  said  Polwarth,  "  who  possess  the 
use  of  their  eyes." 

"  Then  Captain  Polwarth  can  give  testimony  to  the  fact  ?" 

"  I  believe  Major  Lincoln's  horse  carries  a  small  bit  of  your 
lead  to  this  moment,  Master  Sage." 

Seth  yielded  to  this  accumulation  of  evidence  against  him ; 
and  knowing,  moreover,  that  the  grenadier  had  literally  made 
him  a  prisoner  in  the  fact  of  renewing  his  fire,  he  sagaciously 
determined  to  make  a  merit  of  necessity,  and  candidly  to  ac 
knowledge  his  agency  in  inflicting  the  wounds.  The  utmost,  hov^  - 
ever,  that  his  cautious  habits  would  permit  him  to  say,  was — 

"  Seeing  there  can't  well  be  any  mistake,  I  seem  to  think  the 
two  men  were  chiefly  Job  and  I." 

"  Chiefly,  you  lath  of  uncertainty  1"  exclaimed  M'Fuse ;  "  if 
there  was  any  chief  in  that  cowardly  assassination  of  wounding 
a  Christian,  and  of  also  hurting  a  horse — which,  though  noth- 
ing but  a  dumb  baste,  has  better  blood  than  runs  in  your  own 
beggarly  veins — 'twas  your  own  ugly  proportions.  But  I  re- 
joice that  you  have  come  to  the  confessional !  I  can  now  see 
you  hung  with  felicity.  K  you  have  any  thing  to  say,  urge  it  at 
once,  w^hy  I  should  not  embark  you  for  Ireland  by  the  first  ves- 
sel, in  a  letter  to  my  lord-heutenant,  with  a  request  that  he'll 
give  you  an  early  procession,  and  a  dacent  funeral." 

Seth  belonged  to  a  class  of  his  countrymen,  amongst  whom, 
while  there  was  a  superabundance  of  ingenuity,  there  was  lit- 
erally no  joke.  Deceived  by  the  appearance  of  anger,  which 
had  in  reality  blended  with  the  assumed  manner  of  the  grena- 
dier, as  he  dwelt  upon  the  irritating  subject  of  his  own  injuries, 
the  belief  of  the  prisoner  in  the  sacred  protection  of  the  laws 
became  much  shaken,  and  he  began  to  reflect  very  seriously  on 
the  insecurity  of  the  times,  as  well  as  on  the  despotic  nature  of 
the  military  power.  The  little  humor  he  had  inherited  from  his 
puritan  ancestors  was,  though  exceedingly  quaint,  altogether 
after  a  diflerent  fashion  from  the  off'-hand,  blundering  wit  of  the 
Irishman  ;  and  that  manner  which  he  did  not  possess,  he  could 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


201 


not  entirely  comprehend ;  so  tliat,  as  far  as  a  very  visible  alarm 
tiirthered  the  views  of  the  two  conspirators,  they  were  quite 
successful.  Polwarth  now  took  pity  on  his  evident  embarrass- 
ment, and  observed,  with  a  careless  manner — 

"  Perhaps  I  can  make  a  proposal,  by  which  Mr.  Sage  may 
redeem  his  neck  from  the  halter,  and  at  the  same  time  essen- 
tially serve  an  old  friend." 

"  Hear  ye  that,  thou  confounder  of  men  and  bastes !"  cried 
M'Fuse.  "  Down  on  your  knees,  and  thank  Mr.  Paiter  Polwarth 
for  the  charity  of  his  insinuation." 

Seth  was  not  displeased  to  hear  such  amicable  intentions  an- 
nounced ;  but,  habitually  cautious  in  all  bargaining,  he  sup- 
pressed the  exhibition  of  his  satisfaction,  and  said,  with  an  air 
of  deliberation  that  would  have  done  credit  to  the  keenest  trader 
in  King-street,  that  "  he  should  like  to  hear  the  terms  of  agree- 
ment, before  he  gave  his  conclusion." 

"  They  are  simply  these,"  returned  Polwarth  :  "  you  shall  re- 
ceive your  passports  and  freedom  to-night,  on  condition  that 
you  sign  this  bond,  whereby  you  will  become  obliged  to  supply 
our  mess,  as  usual,  during  the  time  the  place  is  invested,  with 
certain  articles  of  food  and  nourishment,  as  herein  set  forth, 
and-  according  to  the  prices  mentioned,  which  the  veriest  Jew  in 
Duke's  Place  would  pronounce  to  be  liberal.  Here,  take  the 
instrument,  and  '  read  and  mark,'  in  order  that  we  may  '  in- 
wardly digest.'  " 

Seth  took  the  paper,  and  gave  it  that  manner  of  investiga- 
tion that  he  was  wont  to  bestow  on  every  thing  which  affected 
his  pecuniary  interests.  He  objected  to  the  price  of  every  arti- 
cle, all  of  which  were  altered  in  compliance  with  his  obstinate 
resistance ;  and  he  moreover  insisted  that  a  clause  should  be 
inserted  to  exonerate  him  from  the  penalty,  pro^dded  the  inter- 
course should  be  prohibited  by  the  authorities  of  the  colony ; 
after  which  he  continued — 

"  If  the  captain  will  agree  to  take  charge  of  the  things,  and 
become  liable,  I  will  conclude  to  make  the  trade." 


202 


LIONEL  LIXCOLN, 


"  Here  is  a  fellow  who  wants  boot  in  a  bargain  for  liis  life  1" 
cried  the  grenadier.  "  But  we  will  humor  his  covetous  inclina- 
tions, Polly,  and  take  charge  of  the  chattels.  Captain  Pol- 
warth  and  myself  pledge  our  words  to  their  safe-keeping.  Let 
me  run  my  eyes  over  the  articles,"  continued  the  grenadier, 
looking  very  gravely  at  the  several  covenants  of  the  bond. 
"  Faith,  Paiter,  you  have  bargained  for  a  goodly  larder  !  Baif, 
mutton,  pigs,  turnips,  potatoes,  melons,  and  other  fruits — 
there's  a  blunder,  now,  that  would  keep  an  English  mess  on  a 
grin  for  a  month,  if  an  Irishman  had  made  it !  as  if  a  melon 
w^as  a  fruit,  and  a  potato  was  not !  The  devil  a  word  do  I  see 
that  you  have  said  about  a  mouthful,  except  aitables,  either ! 
Here,  fellov/,  clap  your  learning  to  it,  and  I'll  warrant  you  we 
yet  get  a  meal  out  of  it,  in  some  manner  or  other." 

"  Wouldn't  it  be  as  well  to  put  the  last  agreement  in  the 
writings,  too,"  said  Seth,  "  in  case  of  accidents  ?" 

"  Hear  how  a  knave  halters  himself  1"  cried  M'Fuse  :  "  he 
has  the  individual  honor  of  two  captains  of  foot,  and  is  willing 
to  exchange  it  for  their  joint  bond  !  The  request  is  too  raison- 
able  to  be  denied,  Polly,  and  we  should  be  guilty  of  pecuniary 
suicide  to  reject  it ;  so  place  a  small  article  at  the  bottom,  ex- 
planatory of  the  mistake  the  gentleman  has  fallen  into." 

Polwarth  did  not  hesitate  to  comply,  and  in  a  very  few  min- 
utes every  thing  was  arranged  to  the  perfect  satisfaction  of  the 
parties  ;  the  two  soldiers  felicitating  themselves  on  the  success 
of  a  scheme  which  seemed  to  avert  the  principal  evils  of  the 
leaguer  from  their  own  mess  ;  and  Seth  finding  no  difiiculty  in 
complying  with  an  agreement  which  was  likely  to  prove  so 
profitable,  however  much  he  doubted  its  validity  in  a  court  of 
-ustice.  The  prisoner  was  now  declared  at  liberty,  and  was  ad- 
vised to  make  his  way  out  of  the  place,  with  as  little  noise  as 
possible,  and  under  favor  of  the  pass  he  held.  Seth  gave 
the  bond  a  last  and  most  attentive  perusal,  and  then  departed, 
well  contented  to  abide  by  its  conditions,  and  not  a  little  pleased 
to  escape  from  the  grenadier,  the  expression  of  vfhose  half- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


203 


cumic,  half-serious  eye,  occasioned  him  more  perplexity  than 
any  other  subject  which  had  ever  before  occupied  his  astute- 
ness. After  the  disappearance  of  the  prisoner,  the  two  worthies 
repaired  to  their  nightly  banquet,  laughing  heartily  at  the  suc- 
cess of  their  notable  invention. 

Lionel  suffered  Seth  to  pass  from  the  room,  without  speak- 
ing ;  but,  as  the  man  left  his  own  abode  with  a  lingering  and 
doubtful  step,  the  young  soldier  followed  him  into  the  street, 
without  communicating  to  any  one  that  he  had  witnessed  what 
had  passed,  with  the  laudable  intention  of  adding  his  own  per- 
sonal pledge  for  the  security  of  the  household  goods  in  ques- 
tion. He,  however,  found  it  no  easy  achievement  to  equal  the 
speed  of  a  man  who  had  just  escaped  from  a  long  confinement, 
and  who  now  appeared  inclined  to  indulge  his  limbs  freely  in 
the  pleasure  of  an  unlimited  exercise.  The  velocity  of  Seth 
continued  unabated,  until  he  had  conducted  Lionel  far  into  the 
lower  parts  of  the  town,  where  the  latter  perceived  him  to  en- 
counter a  man,  with  whom  he  turned  suddenly  under  an  arch 
which  led  into  a  dark  and  narrow  court.  Lionel  instantly  in- 
creased his  speed,  and  as  he  entered  beneath  the  passage,  he 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  lank  figure  of  the  object  of  his  pur- 
suit, gliding  through  the  opposite  entrance  to  the  court ;  and, 
at  the  same  moment,  he  encountered  the  man  who  had  ap- 
parently induced  the  deviation  in  his  route.  As  Lionel  stepped 
a  little  on  one  side,  the  hght  of  a  lamp  fell  full  on  the  form  of 
the  other,  and  he  recognized  the  person  of  the  active  leader  of 
the  caucus  (as  the  political  meeting  he  had  attended  was 
called),  though  so  disguised  and  muffled  that,  but  for  the  acci- 
dental opening  of  the  folds  of  his  cloak,  the  unknown  might 
have  passed  his  nearest  friend  without  discovery. 

"  We  meet  again !"  exclaimed  Lionel,  in  the  quickness  ot 
surprise  ;  "  though  it  would  seem  that  the  sun  is  never  to  shine 
on  our  interviews." 

The  stranger  started,  and  betrayed  an  evident  wish  to  con* 
tinue  his  walk,  as  though  the  other  had  mistaken  his  person ; 


204 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


then,  as  if  suddenly  recollecting  himself,  he  turned  and  ap- 
proached Lionel,  with  easy  dignity,  and  answered — 

The  third  time  is  said  to  contain  the  charm  !  I  am  happy 
to  find  that  I  meet  Major  Lincoln  unharmed,  after  the  dangers 
he  so  lately  encountered." 

"  The  dangers  have  probably  been  exaggerated  by  those 
who  wish  ill  to  the  cause  of  our  master,"  returned  Lionel, 
coldly. 

There  was  a  calm,  but  proud  smile  on  the  face  of  the  stran- 
ger, as  he  replied — 

"  I  shall  not  dispute  the  information  of  one  who  bore  so  con- 
spicuous a  part  in  the  deeds  of  that  day.  Still  you  will  remem- 
ber, though  the  march  to  Lexington  was,  like  our  own  accidental 
rencontres,  in  the  dark,  that  a  bright  sun  shone  upon  the  re- 
treat, and  nothing  has  been  hid." 

"  Nothing  need  be  concealed,"  replied  Lionel,  nettled,  by  the 
proud  composure  of  the  other,  "  unless,  indeed,  the  man  I  ad- 
dress is  afraid  to  walk  the  streets  of  Boston  in  open  day." 

"  The  man  you  address.  Major  Lincoln,"  said  the  stranger, 
advancing  in  his  warmth  a  step  nearer  to  Lionel,  "  has  dared  to 
w^alk  the  streets  of  Boston  both  by  day  and  by  night,  when  the 
bullies  of  him  you  call  your  master  have  strutted  their  hour  in 
the  security  of  peace  ;  and,  now  a  nation  is  up  to  humble  their 
pretensions,  shall  he  shrink  from  treading  his  native  soil  when 
he  will?" 

"  This  is  bold  language  from  an  enemy  within  a  British 
camp  I    Ask  yourself  what  course  my  duty  requires  of  me." 

"  That  is  a  question  which  lies  between  Major  Lincoln  and 
his  conscience,"  returned  the  stranger ;  "  though,"  he  added, 
after  a  momentary  pause,  and  in  a  milder  tone,  as  if  he  recol 
lected  the  danger  of  his  situation,  "  the  gentlemen  of  his  name 
and  lineage  were  not  apt  to  be  informers,  when  they  dwelt  in 
the  land  of  their  birth." 

"  Neither  is  their  descendant.  But  let  this  be  the  last  of  our 
interviews,  until  we  can  meet  as  friends,  or,  as  enemies  should, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


205 


wliere  we  may  discuss  tliese  topics  at  the  points  of  our 
weapons." 

"  Amen,"  said  tlie  stranger,  seizing  tlie  hand  of  the  young 
man,  and  pressing  it  with  the  warmth  of  a  generous  emulation : 
"  that  hour  may  not  be  far  distant,  and  may  God  smile  only  on 
the  just  cause  !" 

Without  uttering  more,  he  drew  the  folds  of  his  dress  more 
closely  around  his  form,  and  walked  so  swiftly  away  that  Lionel, 
had  he  possessed  the  inclination,  could  not  have  found  an  oppor- 
tunity to  arrest  his  progress.  As  all  expectation  of  overtaldng 
Seth  was  now  lost,  the  young  soldier  returned  slowly  and 
thoughtfully  towards  his  quarters. 

The  two  or  three  succeeding  days  were  distinguished  by  an 
appearance  of  more  than  usual  preparation  among  the  troops, 
and  it  became  known  that  officers  of  rank  had  closely  recon- 
noitered  the  grounds  of  the  opposite  peninsula.  Lionel  pa- 
tiently awaited  the  progress  of  events ;  but  as  the  probabihty 
of  active  service  increased,  his  wishes  to  make  another  effort  to 
probe  the  secret  of  the  tenant  of  the  warehouse  revived,  and 
he  took  his  way  towards  the  Dock  Square,  with  that  object,  on 
the  night  of  the  fourth  day  from  the  preceding  interview  with 
the  stranger.  It  was  long  after  the  tattoo  had  laid  the  town  in 
that  deep  quiet  which  follows  the  bustle  of  a  garrison  ;  and,  as 
he  passed  along,  he  saw  none  but  the  sentinels  pacing  their 
short  limits,  or  an  occasional  officer,  returning  at  that  late  hour 
from  his  revels  or  his  duty.  The  windows  of  the  warehouse 
were  dark,  and  its  inhabitants,  if  any  it  had,  were  wrapped  in 
deep  sleep.  Eestless  and  excited,  Lionel  pursued  his  walk 
through  the  narrow  and  gloomy  streets  of  the  North-End,  until 
he  unexpectedly  found  himself  issuing  upon  the  open  space 
that  is  tenanted  by  the  dead,  on  Copp's  Hill.  On  this  emi- 
nence the  English  general  had  caused  a  battery  of  heavy  can- 
non to  be  raised,  and  Lionel,  unwilling  to  encounter  the  chal- 
lenge of  the  sentinels,  inclining  a  little  to  one  side,  proceeded 
to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and,  seating  himself  on  a  stone,  began 


206 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


to  muse  deeply  on  his  own  fortunes,  and  tlie  situation  of  tho 
country. 

The  night  was  obscure,  but  the  thin  vapors  which  appeared 
to  overhang  the  place  opened  at  times,  when  a  faint  starlight 
fell  from  the  heavens,  and  rendered  the  black  hulls  of  the  ves- 
sels of  war,  that  lay  moored  before  the  town,  and  the  faint  out- 
lines of  the  opposite  shores,  dimly  visible.  The  stillness  of 
midnight  rested  on  the  scene,  and  when  the  loud  calls  of  "  All's 
well "  ascended  from  the  ships  and  batteries,  the  momentary 
cry  was  succeeded  by  a  quiet  as  deep  as  if  the  universe  slum- 
bered under  this  assurance  of  safety.  At  such  an  instant,  when 
even  the  light  breathings  of  the  night  air  were  audible,  the 
sound  of  rippling  waters,  like  that  occasioned  by  raising  a 
paddle  with  extreme  caution,  was  borne  to  the  ear  of  the  young 
soldier.  He  hstened  intently,  and  then,  bending  his  eyes  in 
the  direction  of  the  faint  sounds,  he  saw  a  small  canoe  gliding 
along  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  soon  shoot  upon  the  grav- 
elly shore,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  with  a  motion  so  easy  and 
uniform  as  scarcely  to  curl  a  wave  on  the  land.  Curious  to 
know  who  could  be  moving  about  the  harbor  at  this  hour,  in 
such  a  secret  manner,  Lionel  was  in  the  act  of  rising  to  de- 
scend, when  he  saw  the  dim  figure  of  a  man  land  from  the 
boat,  and  climb  the  hill,  directly  in  a  line  with  his  own  posi- 
tion. Suppressing  even  the  sounds  of  his  breath,  and  drawing 
his  body  back  within  the  deep  shadow  cast  from  a  point  of  the 
hill,  a  little  above  him,  Lionel  waited  until  the  figure  had  ap- 
proached within  ten  feet  of  him,  when  it  stopped,  and  ap- 
peared, like  himself,  to  be  endeavoring  to  suppress  all  other 
sounds  and  feelings  in  the  absorbing  act  of  deep  attention. 
The  young  soldier  loosened  his  sword  in  its  sheath,  before  he 
said — 

"  We  h-ave  chosen  a  private  spot,  and  a  secret  hour,  sir,  for 
our  meditations !" 

Had  the  figure  possessed  the  impalpable  nature  of  an  imma- 
terial being,  it  could  not  have  received  this  remark,  so  startling 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


207 


from  its  suddenness,  witli  greater  apathy  than  did  the  man  to 
whom  it  was  addressed.  He  turned  slowly  towards  the  speaker, 
and  seemed  to  look  at  him  earnestly,  before  he  answered,  in  a 
low,  menacing  voice — 

"  There's  a  granny  on  the  hill,  wdth  a  gun  and  baggonet, 
walking  among  the  cannon,  and  if  he  hears  people  talking 
down  here,  he'll  make  them  prisoners,  though  one  cf  them 
should  be  Major  Lincoln." 

"  Ha !  Job,"  said  Lionel ;  "  and  is  it  you  I  meet  prowling 
about  like  a  thief  at  night  ?  On  what  errand  of  mischief  have 
you  been  sent  this  time  ?" 

"  If  Job's  a  thief  for  coming  to  see  the  graves  on  Copp's,'^  re- 
turned the  lad,  sullenly,  "  there's  two  of  them." 

"  Well  answered,  boy  !"  said  Lionel,  with  a  smile.  "  But  I 
repeat,  on  what  errand  have  you  returned  to  the  town  at  this 
unseasonable  and  suspicious  hour  f 

"  Job  loves  to  come  up  among  the  graves  before  the  cocks 
crow  ;  they  say  the  dead  walk  when  living  men  sleep." 

"  And  would  you  hold  communion  with  the  dead,  then  f ' 

"  'Tis  sinful  to  ask  them  many  questions,  and  such  as  you  do 
put  should  be  made  in  the  Holy  Name,"  returned  the  lad,  in  a 
tone  so  solemn,  that,  connected  with  the  place  and  the  scene,  it 
caused  the  blood  of  Lionel  to  thrill.  "  But  Job  loves  to  be  near 
them,  to  use  him  to  the  damps,  ag'in  the  time  he  shall  be  called 
to  walk  himself  in  a  sheet  at  midnight." 

"  Hush  !"  said  Lionel.    "  What  noise  is  that  ?" 

Job  stood  a  moment,  listening  as  intently  as  his  companion, 
before  he  answered — 

"  There's  no  noise  but  the  moaning  of  the  wind  in  the  bay, 
or  the  sea  tumbling  on  the  beaches  of  the  islands." 

"  'Tis  neither,"  said  Lionel :  "  I  heard  the  low  hum  of  a  hun- 
dred voices,  or  my  ears  have  played  me  falsely." 

"  May  be  the  spirits  speak  to  each  other,"  said  the  lad :  "  they 
Bay  their  voices  are  hke  the  rushing  winds." 

Lionel  passed  his  hand  across  his  brow,  and  endeavored  to 


208 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


recover  tlie  tone  of  his  mind,  which  had  been  strangely  disor- 
dered by  the  solemn  manner  of  his  companion,  and  walked 
Blowly  from  the  spot,  closely  attended  by  the  silent  changeling. 
He  did  not  stop  until  he  had  reached  the  inner  angle  of  the  wall 
that  inclosed  the  field  of  the  dead,  when  he  paused,  and,  leaning 
on  the  fence,  again  listened  intently. 

"  Boy,  I  know  not  how  your  silly  conversation  may  have 
warped  my  brain,"  he  said,  "  but  there  are  surely  strange  and 
unearthly  sounds  lingering  about  this  place,  to-night!  By 
heavens !  there  is  another  rush  of  voices,  as  if  the  air  above 
the  water  were  filled  with  living  beings  ;  and  then,  again,  I 
think  I  hear  a  noise  as  if  heavy  weights  were  falling  to  the 
earth." 

"  Ay,"  said  Job,  "  'tis  the  clods  on  the  coffins  :  the  dead  are 
going  into  their  graves  ag'in,  and  'tis  time  that  we  should  leave 
them  their  own  grounds." 

Lionel  hesitated  no  longer,  but  he  rather  run  than  walked 
from  the  spot,  with  a  secret  hoiTor  that,  at  another  moment,  he 
would  have  blushed  to  acknowledge  ;  nor  did  he  perceive  that 
he  was  still  attended  by  Job,  until  he  had  descended  some  dis- 
tance down  Lynn-street.  Here  he  was  addressed  by  his  com- 
panion, in  his  usually  quiet  and  unmeaning  tones — 

"  There's  the  house  that  the  governor  built,  who  went  down 
into  the  sea  for  money !"  he  said.  "  He  was  a  poor  boy  once, 
like  Job,  and  now  they  say  his  grandson  is  a  great  lord,  and 
the  king  knighted  the  grand'ther  too.  It's  pretty  much  the 
same  thing  whether  a  man  gets  his  money  out  of  the  sea  or  out 
of  the  earth ;  the  king  will  make  him  a  lord  for  it." 

"You  hold  the  favors  of  royalty  cheap,  fellow,"  returned 
Lionel,  glancing  his  eye  carelessly  at  the  *  Phipps'  House,'  as  he 
passed  :  "  you  forget  that  I  am  to  be  some  day  one  of  your  de- 
spised knights !" 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Job ;  "  and  you  come  from  America,  too. 
It  seems  to  me  that  all  the  poor  boys  go  from  America  to  the 
king  to  be  great  lords,  and  all  the  sons  of  the  great  lords  come 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


209 


to  America  to  be  made  poor  boys.  JSTab  says  Job  is  the  son  of 
a  great  lord,  too 

"Then  Nab  is  as  great  a  fool  as  her  child,"  said  Lionel;  "but, 
boy,  I  would  see  your  mother  in  the  morning,  and  I  expect  you 
to  let  me  know  at  what  hour  I  may  visit  her." 

Job  did  not  answer,  and  Lionel,  on  turning  his  head,  per- 
ceived that  he  w^as  suddenly  deserted  by  the  changeling,  who 
was  already  gliding  back  towards  his  favorite  haunt  among  the 
graves.  Vexed  at  the  wild  humors  of  the  lad,  Lionel  hastened 
to  his  quarters,  and  threw  himself  in  his  bed,  though  he  heard 
the  loud  cries  of  "  All's  well,"  again  and  again,  before  the  strange 
phantasies,  which  continued  to  cross  his  mind,  would  permit 
him  to  obtain  the  rest  he  sought. 


210 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

"  We  are  finer  gentlemen,  no  doubt,  than  the  plain  farmers  we  are  about  to  en- 
counter. Our  hats  carry  a  smarter  cock,  our  swords  hang  more  gracefully  by  cur 
Bides,  and  we  make  an  easier  figure  in  a  ball-room;  but  let  it  be  remembered,  that 
the  most  finished  maccaroni  amongst  us,  would  pass  for  an  arrant  clown  at  Pekin." 

Letter  from  a  teteean  t)FFiCEK,  eto 

When  the  heavy  sleep  of  morning  fell  upon  his  senses,  visions 
of  the  past  and  future  mingled  with  wild  confusion  in  the  dreams 
of  the  youthful  soldier.  The  form  of  his  father  stood  before 
him,  as  he  had  known  it  in  his  childhood,  fair  in  the  proportions 
and  vigor  of  manhood,  regarding  him  with  those  eyes  of  benig- 
nant, but  melancholy  affection,  which  characterized  their  ex- 
pression after  he  had  become  the  sole  joy  of  his  widowed  parent. 
While  his  heart  was  warming  at  the  sight,  the  figure  melted 
away,  and  was  succeeded  by  fantastic  phantoms,  which  appeared 
to  dance  among  the  graves  on  Copp's,  led  along  in  those  gam- 
bols, which  partook  of  the  ghastly  horrors  of  the  dead,  by  Job 
Pray,  who  glided  among  the  tombs  like  a  being  of  another 
world.  Sudden  and  loud  thunder  then  burst  upon  them,  and 
the  shadows  fled  into  their  secret  places,  from  whence  he  could 
see,  ever  and  anon,  some  glassy  eyes  and  spectral  faces,  peering 
out  upon  him,  as  if  conscious  of  the  power  they  possessed  to 
chill  the  blood  of  the  living.  His  visions  now  became  painfully 
distinct,  and  his  sleep  was  oppressed  with  their  vividness,  when 
his  senses  burst  their  unnatural  bonds,  and  he  awoke.  The  air 
of  morning  was  breathing  through  his  open  curtains,  and  the 
light  of  day  had  already  shed  itself  upon  the  dusky  roofs  of  the 
town.  Lionel  arose  from  his  bed,  and  had  paced  his  chamber 
several  times,  in  a  vain  effort  to  shake  off  the  images  that  had 
haunted  his  slumbers,  when  the  sounds  which  broke  upon  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


211 


stillness  of  the  air  became  too  plain  to  be  longer  mistaken  by  a 
practised  ear. 

"  Ha  !"  lie  muttered  to  himself,  "  I  have  been  dreaming  but 
by  halves  :  these  are  the  sounds  of  no  fancied  tempest,  but  can- 
non, speaking  most  plainly  to  the  soldier  !" 

He  opened  his  window,  and  looked  out  upon  the  surrounding 
scene.  The  roar  of  artillery  was  now  quick  and  heavy,  and 
Lionel  bent  his  eyes  about  him  to  discover  the  cause  of  this  un- 
usual occurrence.  It  had  been  the  policy  of  Gage  to  await  the 
arrwal  of  his  reinforcements  before  he  struck  a  blow  which  was 
intended  to  be  decisive ;  and  the  Americans  vfere  well  known  to 
be  too  scantily  supplied  with  the  munitions  of  war,  to  waste  a 
single  charge  of  powder  in  any  of  the  vain  attacks  of  modern 
sieges.  A  kn^ledge  of  these  facts  gave  an  additional  interest 
to  the  curiosity  with  which  Major  Lincoln  endeavored  to  pene- 
trate the  mystery  of  so  singular  a  disturbance.  Window  after 
window  in  the  adjacent  buildings  soon  exhibited,  like  his  own, 
its  wondering  and  alarmed  spectator.  Here  and  there  a  half- 
dressed  soldier,  or  a  busy  townsman,  was  seen  hurrying  along 
the  silent  streets,  with  steps  that  denoted  the  eagerness  of  his 
curiosity.  Women  began  to  rush  wildly  from  their  dwellings, 
and  then,  as  the  sounds  broke  on  their  ears  with  tenfold  heavi- 
ness in  the  open  air,  they  shrunk  back  into  their  habitations  in 
pallid  dismay.  Lionel  called  to  three  or  four  of  the  men,  as 
they  hurried  by ;  but,  turning  their  eyes  wildly  towards  his 
window,  they  passed  on  without  answering,  as  if  the  emergency 
were  too  pressing  to  admit  of  speech.  Finding  his  repeated  in- 
quiries fruitless,  he  hastily  dressed  himself,  and  descended  to  the 
street.  As  he  left  his  own  door,  a  half-clad  artillerist  hurried 
past  him,  adjusting  his  garments  with  one  hand,  and  bearing  in 
the  other  some  of  the  lesser  implements  of  the  particular  corps 
in  which  he  served. 

"  What  means  the  firing,  sergeant,"  demanded  Lionel,  "  and 
whither  do  you  hasten  with  those  fusees  ?" 

"  The  rebels,  your  honor,  the  rebels !"  returned  the  soldier 


212 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


looking  back  to  speak,  without  ceasing  his  speed  ;  "  and  I  go  to 
my  guns  !" 

"  The  rebels  !"  repeated  Lionel :  "  what  can  we  have  to  fear 
from  a  mob  of  countrymen,  in  such  a  position  ?  That  fellow  has 
slept  from  his  post,  and  apprehensions  for  himself  mingle  with 
this  zeal  for  his  king !" 

The  towns-people  now  began  to  pour  from  their  dwellings  in 
scores  ;  and  Lionel  imitated  their  example,  and  took  his  course 
towards  the  adjacent  height  of  Beacon  Hill.  He  toiled  his  way 
up  the  steep  ascent,  in  company  with  twenty  more,  without  ex- 
changing a  syllable  with  men  who  appeared  as  much  astonished 
as  himself  at  this  early  interruption  of  their  slumbers,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  he  stood  on  a  little  grassy  platform,  surrounded  by 
a  hundred  interested  gazers.  The  sun  had  just"  lifted  the  thin 
veil  of  mist  from  the  bosom  of  the  waters,  and  the  eye  was  per- 
mitted to  range  over  a  wide  field  beneath  the  light  vapor. 
Several  vessels  were  moored  in  the  channels  of  the  Charles  and 
Mystick,  to  cover  the  northern  approaches  to  the  place ;  and  as 
he  beheld  the  column  of  white  smoke  that  was  wreathing  about 
the  masts  of  a  frigate  among  them,  Lionel  was  no  longer  at  a 
loss  to  comprehend  whence  the  firing  proceeded.  While  he 
was  yet  gazing,  uncertain  of  the  reasons  which  demanded  this 
show  of  war,  immense  fields  of  smoke  burst  from  the  side  of  a 
ship  of  the  line,  who  also  opened  her  deep-mouthed  cannon, 
and  presently  her  example  was  followed  by  several  floating 
batteries,  and  lighter  vessels,  until  the  wide  amphitheatre  of  hills 
that  encircled  Boston  was  filled  with  the  echoes  of  a  hundred 
pieces  of  artillery. 

"  What  can  it  mean,  sir  exclaimed  a  young  ofiicer  of  his 
ovv^n  regiment,  addressing  Major  Lincoln  :  "  the  sailors  are  in 
downright  earnest,  and  they  scale  their  guns  with  shot,  I  know, 
by  the  rattling  of  the  reports." 

"  I  can  boast  of  a  vision  no  better  than  your  own,"  returned 
Lionel ;  "  for  no  enemy  can  I  see.  As  the  guns  seem  pointed  at 
the  opposite  peninsula,  it  is  probable  a  party  of  the  Americans 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


213 


are  attempting  to  destroy  the  grass  which  lies  newly  mown  in 
the  meadows." 

The  young  officer  was  in  the  act  of  assenting  to  this  conjec- 
ture, when  a  voice  was  heard  above  their  heads,  shouting — 

"  There  goes  a  gun  from  Copp's  !  They  needn't  think  to 
frighten  the  people  with  their  rake-helly  noises ;  let  them  blaze 
away  till  the  dead  get  out  of  their  graves — the  Bay-men  will 
keep  the  hill  1" 

Every  eye  was  immediately  turned  upward,  and  the  wonder- 
ing and  amused  spectators  discovered  Job  Pray,  seated  in  the 
grate  of  the  beacon,  his  countenance,  usually  so  vacant,  gleam- 
ing with  exultation,  while  he  continued  waving  his  hat  high  in 
air,  as  gun  after  gun  was  added  to  the  uproar  of  the  cannonade. 

"  How  now,  fellow !"  exclaimed  Lionel :  "  what  see  you,  and 
where  are  the  Bay-men  of  whom  you  speak 

"  Where  ?"  returned  the  simpleton,  clapping  his  hands  with 
childish  delight.  Why,  where  they  came  at  dark  midnight,  and 
where  they'll  stand  at  open  noonday  !  The  Bay-men  can  look 
into  the  windows  of  old  Funnel  at  last ;  and  now  let  the  regulars 
come  on,  and  they'll  teach  the  godless  murderers  the  law  1" 

Lionel,  a  little  irritated  with  the  bold  language  of  Job,  called 
to  him,  in  an  angry  voice — 

"  Come  down  from  that  perch,  fellow,  and  explain  yourself,  or 
this  grenadier  shall  lift  you  from  your  seat,  and  transfer  you 
to  the  post  for  a  little  of  that  wholesome  correction  which  you 
need." 

"  You  promised  that  the  grannies  should  never  flog  Job 
ag'in,"  said  the  changeling,  crouching  down  in  the  grate,  whence 
he  looked  out  at  his  threatened  chastiser  with  a  lowering  and 
sullen  eye  ;  "  and  Job  agreed  to  run  yom*  a'r'nds,  and  not  take 
any  of  the  king's  crowns  in  pay." 

"  Come  down,  then,  this  instant,  and  I  will  rem^ember  the 
compact." 

Comforted  by  this  assurance,  which  w^as  made  in  a  more 
friendly  tone,  Job  threw  himself  carelessly  from  his  iron  seat, 


214 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


and  clinging  to  tlie  post,  lie  slid  swiftly  to  the  earth,  where 
Major  Lincoln  immediately  arrested  him  by  the  arm,  and  de- 
manded— 

"  Where  are  those  Bay-men,  I  once  more  ask  ?" 

"  There  repeated  Job,  pointing  over  the  low  roofs  of  the 
town,  in  the  direction  of  the  opposite  peninsula.  "  They  dug 
their  cellar  on  Breed's,  and  now  they  are  fixing  the  under- 
pinnin',  and  next  you'll  see  what  a  raising  they'll  invite  the 
people  to !" 

The  instant  the  spot  was  named,  all  those  eyes,  which  had 
hitherto  gazed  at  the  vessels  themselves,  instead  of  searching 
for  the  object  of  their  hostility,  were  turned  on  the  green  emi- 
nence which  rose  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  village  of  Charles- 
town,  and  every  doubt  was  at  once  removed  by  the  discovery. 
The  high,  conical  summit  of  Bunker  Hill  lay  naked  and  unoc- 
cupied, as  on  the  preceding  day ;  but  on  the  extremity  of  a 
more  humble  ridge,  which  extended  within  a  short  distance  of 
the  water,  a  low  bank  of  earth  had  been  thrown  up,  for  pur- 
poses which  no  military  eye  could  mistake.  This  redoubt,  small 
and  inartificial  as  it  was,  commanded  by  its  position  the  whole 
of  the  inner  harbor  of  Boston,  and  even  endangered,  in  some 
measure,  the  occupants  of  the  town  itself.  It  was  the  sudden 
appearance  of  this  magical  mound,  as  the  mists  of  the  morning 
had  dispersed,  which  roused  the  slumbering  seamen ;  and  it  had 
already  become  the  target  of  all  the  guns  of  the  shipping  in  the 
bay.  Amazement  at  the  temerity  of  their  countrymen  held  the 
townsmen  silent,  while  Major  Lincoln,  and  the  few  officers  who 
stood  nigh  him,  saw,  at  a  glance,  that  this  step  on  the  part  of 
their  adversaries  would  bring  the  affairs  of  the  leaguer  to  an 
instant  crisis.  In  vain  they  turned  their  wondering  looks  on 
the  neighboring  eminence,  and  around  the  different  points  of 
the  peninsula,  in  quest  of  those  places  of  support  with  which 
soldiers  generally  intrench  their  defences.  The  husbandmen 
opposed  to  them  had  seized  upon  the  point  best  calculated  to 
annoy  their  foes,  without  regard  to  the  consequences ;  and  in  a 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


215 


few  sLort  hours,  favored  by  tlie  mantle  of  night,  had  thrown  up 
their  work  with  a  dexterity  that  was  only  exceeded  by  their 
boldness.  The  truth  flashed  across  the  brain  of  Major  Lincohi 
with  his  first  glance,  and  he  felt  his  cheeks  glow  as  he  remem- 
bered the  low  and  indistinct  murmurs  which  the  night  air  had 
wafted  to  his  ears,  and  those  inexplicable  fancies,  which  had 
even  continued  to  haunt  him  till  dispersed  by  truth  and  the 
light  of  day.  Motioning  to  Job  to  follow,  lie  left  the  hill  with 
a  hurried  step ;  and  when  tliey  gained  the  common,  he  turned 
and  said,  sternly,  to  his  companion — 

"  Fellow,  you  have  been  privy  to  this  midnight  work  !" 

"  Job  has  enough  to  do  in  the  day,  without  laboring  in  the 
night,  when  none  but  the  dead  are  out  of  their  places  of  rest," 
returned  the  lad,  with  a  look  of  mental  imbecility  which  imme- 
diately disarmed  the  resentment  of  the  other. 

Lionel  smiled  as  he  again  remembered  his  own  weakness, 
and  repeated  to  himself — 

"  The  dead  !  ay,  these  are  the  works  of  the  living ;  and  bold 
men  are  they  who  have  dared  to  do  the  deed.  But  tell  me, 
Job — ^for  'tis  in  vain  to  attempt  deceiving  me  any  longer — what 
number  of  Americans  did  you  leave  on  the  hill,  when  you 
crossed  the  Charles  to  visit  the  graves  on  Copp's,  the  past 
night  ?" 

"  Both  hills  were  crowded,"  returned  the  other ;  "  Breed's 
with  the  people,  and  Copp's  with  the  ghosts  :  Job  believes  the 
dead  rose  to  see  their  children  digging  so  nigh  them  I" 

"  'Tis  probable,"  said  Lionel,  who  beheved  it  wisest  to  humor 
the  wild  conceits  of  the  lad,  in  order  to  disarm  his  cun- 
ning ;  but,  though  the  dead  are  invisible,  the  living  may  be 
counted." 

"  Job  did  count  five  hundred  men,  marching  over  the  nose  of 
Bunker,  by  starhght,  with  their  picks  and  spades  ;  and  then  he 
stopped,  for  he  forgot  whether  seven  or  eight  hundred  came 
next." 

"  And  after  you  ceased  to  count,  did  m.any  others  pass  ?" 


216 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  The  Bay  colony  isn't  so  poorly  ofi  for  men,  that  it  can't 
muster  a  thousand  at  a  raising." 

"  But  you  had  a  master  workman  on  the  occasion :  was  it  the 
wolf-hunter  of  Connecticut 

"There  is  no  occasion  to  go  from  the  province  to  find  a 
workman  to  lay  out  a  cellar!  Dickey  Gridley  is  a  Boston 
boy 

"  Ah  !  he  is  the  chief !  We  can  have  nothing  to  fear,  then, 
since  the  Connecticut  woodsman  is  not  at  their  head  !" 

"  Do  you  think  old  Prescott,  of  Pepperel,  will  quit  the  hill 
while  he  has  a  kernel  of  powder  to  burn  ?  No,  no.  Major  Lin- 
coln, Ralph  himself  ain't  a  stouter  warrior ;  and  you  can't  fright- 
en Ralph !" 

"  But  if  they  fire  their  cannon  often,  their  small  stock  of  am- 
munition will  be  soon  consumed,  and  then  they  must  unavoid- 
ably run." 

Job  laughed  tauntingly,  and  with  an  appearance  of  high 
scorn,  before  he  answered — 

"  Yes,  if  the  Bay-men  were  as  dumb  as  the  king's  troops,  and 
used  such  big  guns !  But  the  cannon  of  the  colony  want  but 
little  brimstone,  and  there's  but  a  few  of  them.  Let  the  rake- 
hellies  go  up  to  Breed's — the  people  will  teach  them  the  law !" 

Lionel  had  now  obtained  all  he  expected  to  learn  from  the 
simpleton  concerning  the  force  and  condition  of  the  Americans  ; 
and  as  the  moments  were  too  precious  to  be  wasted  in  vain  dis- 
course, he  bid  the  lad  repair  to  his  quarters  that  night,  and  left 
him.  On  entering  his  own  lodgings.  Major  Lincoln  shut  him- 
self up  in  his  private  apartment,  and  passed  several  hours  in 
writing,  and  examining  important  papers.  One  letter,  in  par- 
ticular, was  written,  read,  torn,  and  re-written,  five  or  six  times, 
until  at  length  he  placed  his  seal,  and  directed  the  importan 
paper  with  a  sort  of  carelessness  that  denoted  his  patience  was 
exhausted  by  repeated  trials.  These  documents  were  intrusted 
to  Meriton,  with  orders  to  deliver  them  to  their  several  ad- 
dresses, unless  countermanded  before  the  following  day ;  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


217 


the  young  man  hastily  swallowed  a  late  and  light  breakfast. 
While  shut  up  in  his  closet,  Lionel  had  several  times  thrown 
aside  his  pen  to  listen,  as  the  hum  of  the  place  penetrated  to 
his  retirement,  and  announced  the  excitement  and  bustle  which 
pervaded  the  streets  of  the  town.  Having  at  length  completed 
the  task  he  had  assigned  hhiiself,  he  caught  up  his  hat,  and  took 
his  way,  with  hasty  steps,  into  the  centre  of  the  place. 

Cannon  were  rattling  over  the  rough  pavements,  followed  by 
ammunition-wagons,  and  officers  and  men  of  the  artillery  were 
seen  in  swift  pursuit  of  their  pieces.  Aide-de-camps  were  riding 
furiously  through  the  streets,  charged  with  important  mes- 
sages ;  and  here  and  there  an  officer  might  be  seen  issuing 
from  his  quarters,  with  a  countenance  in  which  manly  pride 
struggled  powerfully  with  inward  dejection,  as  he  caught  the 
last  glance  of  anguish,  which  followed  his  retiring  form,  from 
eyes  that  had  been  used  to  meet  his  own  with  looks  of  confi- 
dence and  love.  There  was,  however,  but  little  time  to  dwell 
on  these  flitting  ghmpses  of  domestic  woe,  amid  the  general 
bustle  and  glitter  of  the  scene.  Now  and  then  the  strains  of 
martial  music  broke  up  through  the  windings  of  the  crooked 
avenues,  and  detachments  of  the  troops  wheeled  by,  on  their 
way  to  the  appointed  place  of  embarkation.  "While  Lionel 
stood  a  moment  at  the  corner  of  a  street,  admiring  the  firm 
movement  of  a  body  of  grenadiers,  his  eye  fell  on  the  powerful 
frame  and  rigid  features  of  M'Fuse,  marching  at  the  head  of 
his  company  with  that  gravity  which  regarded  the  accuracy  of 
the  step  amongst  the  most  important  incidents  of  life.  At  a 
short  distance  from  him  was  Job  Pray,  timing  his  paces  to  the 
tread  of  the  soldiers,  and  regarding  the  gallant  show  with 
stupid  admiration,  while  his  ear  unconsciously  drank  the  in- 
spiriting music  of  their  band.  As  this  fine  body  of  men  passed 
on,  it  was  immediately  succeeded  by  a  battalion,  in  which  Lio- 
nel instantly  recognized  the  facings  of  his  own  regiment.  The 
warm-hearted  Polwarth  led  his  forward  files,  and,  waving  his 
hand,  he  cried — 

10 


218 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  God  bless  you,  Leo  !  God  bless  you  !  we  shall  make  a  fair 
Btand-up  figlit  of  this  ;  tbere  is  an  end  of  all  stag-bunting." 

The  notes  of  tbe  borns  rose  above  bis  voice,  and  Lionel 
could  do  no  more  tban  return  bis  cordial  salute  ;  wben,  re- 
called to  bis  purpose  by  tbe  sigbt  of  bis  comrades,  be  turned 
and  pursued  bis  way  to  tbe  quarters  of  tbe  commander-in- 
cbief. 

Tbe  gate  of  Province  House  was  tbronged  witb  military 
men ;  some  waiting  for  admittance,  and  otbers  entering  and  de- 
parting witb  tbe  air  of  tbose  wbo  were  cbarged  witb  tbe  execu- 
tion of  matters  of  tbe  deepest  moment.  Tbe  name  of  Major 
Lincoln  was  bardly  announced  before  an  aid  appeared  to  con- 
duct bim  into  tbe  presence  of  tbe  governor,  witb  a  politeness 
and  baste  tbat  several  gentlemen,  wbo  bad  been  in  waiting  for 
hours,  deemed  in  a  trifling  degree  unjust. 

Lionel,  however,  having  little  to  do  witb  murmurs  which  be 
did  not  hear,  followed  his  conductor,  and  was  immediately  ush- 
ered into  the  apartment,  where  a  council  of  war  bad  just  closed 
its  deliberations.  On  the  threshold  of  its  door  be  was  com- 
pelled to  give  way  to  an  ofiicer,  who  was  departing  in  haste, 
and  whose  powerful  frame  seemed  bent  a  little  in  the  intensity 
of  thought,  as  his  dark,  military  countenance  lighted  for  an  in- 
stant with  the  salutation  he  returned  to  tbe  low  bow  of  the 
young  soldier.  Around  this  chief  a  group  of  younger  men  im- 
mediately clustered,  and  as  they  departed  in  company,  Lionel 
was  enabled  to  gather,  from  their  conversation,  that  they  took 
their  way  for  the  field  of  battle.  Tbe  room  was  filled  with  ofii- 
cers  of  high  rank ;  though  here  and  there  was  to  be  seen  a  man 
in  civil  attire,  whose  disappointed  and  bitter  looks  announced 
bim  to  be  one  of  tbose  mandamus  counsellors  whose  evil  ad- 
vice bad  hastened  the  mischief  their  wisdom  could  never  repair 
From  out  a  small  circle  of  these  mortified  civilians,  the  unpre- 
tending person  of  Gage  advanced  to  meet  Lionel,  forming  a 
marked  contrast,  by  the  simplicity  of  its  dress,  to  the  military 
splendor  that  was  glittering  around  him. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


219 


"  In  wliat  can  I  oblige  Major  Lincoln  ?"  he  said,  taking  tlie 
young  man  by  tbe  band  cordially,  as  if  glad  to  get  rid  of  the 
troublesome  counsellors  be  bad  so  unceremoniously  quitted. 

"  ^  Wolfe's  own'  bas  just  passed  me,  on  its  way  to  tbe  boats, 
and  I  bave  ventured  to  intrude  on  your  excellency  to  inquire  if 
it  were  not  time  its  major  bad  resumed  bis  duty." 

A  sbade  of  tbougbt  was  seated  for  a  moment  on  tbe  placid 
features  of  tbe  general,  and  be  tben  answered,  with  a  friendly 
smile — 

"  'Twill  be  no  more  tban  an  affair  of  outposts,  and  must  be 
quickly  ended.  But  sbould  I  grant  tbe  request  of  every  brave 
young  man  wbose  spirit  is  up  to-day,  it  might  cost  bis  majes- 
ty's service  tbe  life  of  some  officer  that  would  make  the  pur- 
chase of  tbe  pile  of  earth  too  dear." 

"  But  may  I  not  be  permitted  to  say,  that  tbe  family  of  Lin- 
coln is  of  the  pro\dnce,  and  its  example  should  not  be  lost  on 
such  an  occasion  ?" 

"  Tbe  loyalty  of  the  colonies  is  too  well  represented  here  to 
need  the  sacrifice,"  said  Gage,  glancing  bis  eyes  carelessly  at  the 
.expecting  group  behind  him.  "  My  council  bave  decided  on 
tbe  officers  to  be  employed,  and  I  regret  that  Major  Lincoln's 
name  was  omitted,  since  I  know  it  will  give  him  pain ;  but 
valuable  lives  are  not  to  be  lightly  and  unnecessarily  exposed." 

Lionel  bowed  in  submission ;  and,  after  communicating  the 
little  be  bad  gathered  from  Job  Pray,  be  turned  away,  and  found 
himself  near  another  officer  of  high  rank,  who  smiled  as  he  ob- 
served bis  disappointed  countenance,  and,  taking  him  by  the 
arm,  led  him  from  the  room,  with  a  freedom  suited  to  his  fine 
figure  and  easy  air. 

"  Then,  like  myself,  Lincoln,  you  are  not  to  battle  for  the 
king  to-day,"  be  said,  on  gaining  the  ante-chamber.  "  Howe 
bas  the  luck  of  tbe  occasion,  if  there  can  be  luck  in  so  vulgar 
an  affair.  But  allons  ;  accompany  me  to  Copp's,  as  a  spectator,  • 
since  they  deny  us  parts  in  the  drama ;  and  perhaps  we  may 
pick  up  materials  for  a  pasquinade,  though  not  for  an  epic." 


220 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Pardon  me,  General  Burgoyne,"  said  Lionel,  "  if  I  view  the 
matter  with  more  serious  eyes  than  yourself." 

"Ah  !  I  had  forgot  that  you  were  a  follower  of  Percy  in  the 
hunt  of  Lexington  !"  interrupted  the  other  ;  "  v/e  will  call  it  a 
tragedy,  then,  if  it  better  suits  your  humor.  For  myself,  Lin- 
coln, I  weary  of  these  crooked  streets  and  gloomy  houses,  and, 
having  some  taste  for  the  poetry  of  nature,  would  have  long 
since  looked  out  upon  the  deserted  fields  of  these  husbandmen, 
had  the  authority,  as  well  as  the  inclination,  rested  v/ith  me. 
But  Clinton  is  joining  us ;  he,  too,  is  for  Copp's,  where  we  can 
all  take  a  lesson  in  arms,  by  studying  the  manner  in  which 
Howe  wields  his  battalions." 

A  soldier  of  middle  age  now  joined  them,  whose  stout  frame, 
while  it  wanted  the  grace  and  ease  of  the  gentleman  who  still 
held  Lionel  by  the  arm,  bore  a  martial  character  to  which  the 
look  of  the  quiet  and  domestic  Gage  was  a  stranger ;  and,  fol- 
lowed by  their  several  attendants,  the  whole  party  immediately 
left  the  government-house  to  take  their  destined  position  on  the 
eminence  so  often  mentioned. 

As  they  entered  the  street,  Burgoyne  relinquished  the  arm  of 
his  companion,  and  moved  with  becoming  dignity  by  the  side 
of  his  brother  general.  Lionel  gladly  availed  himself  of  this 
alteration,  to  v/ithdraw  a  little  from  the  group,  whose  steps  he 
followed  at  such  a  distance  as  permitted  him  to  observe  those 
exhibitions  of  feeling,  on  the  part  of  the  inhabitants,  which  the 
pride  of  the  others  induced  them  to  overlook.  Pallid  and  anx- 
ious female  faces  were  gleaming  out  upon  them  from  every 
window,  while  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  and  the  steeples  of  the 
churches,  were  beginning  to  throng  with  more  daring,  and 
equally  interested  spectators.  The  drums  no  longer  rolled  along 
the  narrow  streets,  though,  occasionally,  the  shrill  strain  of  a 
fife  was  heard  from  the  water,  announcing  the  movements  of  the 
troops  to  the  opposite  peninsula.  Ov^er  all  was  heard  the  inces- 
sant roaring  of  the  artillery,  which,  untired,  had  not  ceased  to 
rumble  in  the  air  since  the  appearance  of  light,  until  the  ear, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


221 


accustomed  to  its  presence,  had  learnt  to  distinguish  the  lesser 
Bounds  we  have  recorded. 

As  the  party  descended  into  the  lower  passages  of  the  town, 
it  appeared  deserted  by  every  thing  having  life  ;  the  open  win  - 
dows  and  neglected  doors  betraying  the  urgency  of  the  feehngs 
which  had  called  the  population  to  situations  more  favorable 
for  observing  the  approaching  contest.  This  appearance  of  in- 
tense curiosity  excited  the  sympathies  of  even  the  old  and  prac- 
tised soldiers  ;  and,  quickening  their  paces,  the  whole  soon  rose 
from  among  the  gloomy  edifices  to  the  open  and  unobstructed 
view  from  the  hill. 

The  whole  scene  now  lay  before  them.  [Nearly  in  their  front 
was  the  village  of  Charlestown,  with  its  deserted  streets,  and 
silent  roofs,  looking  like  a  place  of  the  dead  ;  or,  if  the  signs  of 
life  were  visible  within  its  open  avenues,  'twas  merely  some 
figure  moving  swiftly  in  the  solitude,  like  one  who  hastened  to 
quit  the  devoted  spot.  On  the  opposite  point  of  the  south- 
eastern face  of  the  peninsula,  and  at  the  distance  of  a  thousand 
yards,  the  ground  was  already  covered  by  masses  of  human 
beings  in  scarlet,  with  their  arms  glittering  in  a  noonday  sun. 
Between  the  two,  though  in  the  more  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
silent  town,  the  rounded  ridge  already  described  rose  abruptly 
from  a  flat  that  was  bounded  by  the  water,  until,  having  attained 
an  elevation  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  it  swelled  gradually  to 
the  little  crest,  where  was  planted  the  humble  object  that  had 
occasioned  all  this  commotion.  The  meadows  on  the  right 
were  still  peaceful  and  smiling,  as  in  the  most  quiet  days  of  the 
province,  though  the  excited  fancy  of  Lionel  imagined  that  a 
sullen  stillness  lingered  about  the  neglected  kilns  in  their  front, 
and  over  the  whole  landscape,  that  was  in  gloomy  consonance 
with  the  approaching  scene.  Far  on  the  left,  across  the  waters 
of  the  Charles,  the  American  camp  had  poured  forth  its  thou- 
sands to  the  hills ;  and  the  whole  population  of  the  country,  for 
many  miles  inland,  had  gathered  to  a  point,  to  witness  a  struggle 
charged  with  the  fate  of  their  nation.    Beacon  Hill  rose  from 


222 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


out  the  appalling  silence  of  the  town  of  Boston,  like  a  pyramid 
of  living  faces,  with  every  eye  fixed  on  the  fatal  point ;  and 
men  hung  along  the  yards  of  the  shipping,  or  were  suspended 
on  cornices,  cupolas,  and  steeples,  in  thoughtless  security,  while 
every  other  sense  was  lost  in  the  absorbing  interest  of  the  sight. 
The  vessels  of  war  had  hauled  deep  into  the  rivers,  or,  more 
properly,  those  narrow  arms  of  the  sea  which  formed  the  penin- 
sula, and  sent  their  iron  missiles  with  unwearied  industry  across 
the  low  passage  which  alone  opened  the  means  of  communica- 
tion between  the  self-devoted  yeomen  on  the  hill,  and  their  dis- 
tant countrymen.  "While  battalion  landed  after  battalion  on 
the  point,  cannon-balls  from  the  battery  of  Copp's  and  the 
vessels  of  war  were  glancing  up  the  natural  glacis  that  sur- 
rounded the  redoubt,  burying  themselves  in  its  earthen  parapet, 
or  plunging  with  violence  into  the  deserted  sides  of  the  loftier 
height  which  lay  a  few  hundred  yards  in  its  rear ;  and  the 
black  and  smoking  bombs  appeared  to  hover  above  the  spot, 
as  if  pausing  to  select  the  places  in  which  to  plant  their  deadly 
combustibles. 

Notwithstanding  these  appalling  preparations  and  ceaseless 
annoyances,  throughout  that  long  and  anxious  morning,  the 
stout  husbandmen  on  the  hill  had  never  ceased  their  steady 
efforts  to  maintain,  to  the  uttermost  extremity,  the  post  they 
had  so  daringly  assumed.  In  vain  the  Enghsh  exhausted  every 
means  to  disturb  their  stubborn  foes ;  the  pick,  the  shovel,  and 
the  spade,  continued  to  perform  their  offices ;  and  mound  rose 
after  mound,  amidst  the  din  and  danger  of  the  cannonade, 
steadily,  and  as  well  as  if  the  fanciful  conceits  of  Job  Pray 
embraced  their  real  objects,  and  the  laborers  were  employed  in 
the  peaceful  pursuits  of  their  ordinary  lives.  This  firmness, 
however,  was  not  like  the  proud  front  which  high  training  can 
impart  to  the  most  common  mind ;  for,  ignorant  of  the  glare 
of  military  show ;  in  the  simple  and  rude  vestments  of  their 
calling ;  armed  with  such  weapons  as  they  had  seized  from  the 
hooks  above  their  own  mantels ;  and  without  even  a  banner  to 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


223 


wave  its  clieering  folds  above  their  heads,  they  stood,  sustained 
only  by  the  righteousness  of  their  cause,  and  those  deep  moral 
principles  which  they  had  received  from  their  fathers,  and 
which  they  intended  this  day  should  show  were  to  be  transmit- 
ted untarnished  to  their  children.  It  was  afterwards  known 
that  they  endured  their  labors  and  their  dangers  even  in  v/ant 
of  that  sustenance  which  is  so  essential  to  support  animal  spirits 
in  moments  of  calmness  and  ease ;  while  their  enemies,  on  the 
point,  awaiting  the  arrival  of  their  latest  bands,  were  securely 
devouring  a  meal,  which  to  hundreds  amongst  them  proved  to 
be  their  last.  The  fatal  instant  now  seemed  approaching.  A 
general  movement  was  seen  among  the  battalions  of  the  British, 
who  began  to  spread  along  the  shore,  under  cover  of  the  brow 
of  the  hill — the  lingering  boats  having  arrived  with  the  rear 
of  their  detachments — and  officers  hurried  from  regiment  to 
regiment  with  the  final  mandates  of  their  chief.  At  this  mo- 
ment a  body  of  Americans  appeared  on  the  crown  of  Bunker 
Hill,  and  descending  swiftly  by  the  road,  disappeared  in  the 
meadows  to  the  left  of  their  own  redoubt.  This  band  was 
followed  by  others,  who,  like  themselves,  had  broken  through 
the  dangers  of  the  narrow  pass,  by  braving  the  fire  of  the  ship- 
ping, and  who  also  hurried  to  join  their  comrades  on  the  low- 
land. The  British  general  determined  at  once  to  anticipate 
the  arrival  of  further  reinforcements,  and  gave  forth  the  long- 
expected  order  to  prepare  for  the  attack. 


224 


LIONEL  LINCOLl^. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


"  Til'  imperious  Briton,  on  the  well-fought  groun(3, 
No  cause  for  joy,  or  wanton  triumph,  found  ; 
But  saw,  with  grief,  their  dreams  of  conquest  vain. 
Felt  the  deep  wounds,  and  mourn'd  their  vet'rans  slain." 

Humphreys. 

The  Americans  had  made  a  show,  in  the  course  of  that 
fearful  morning,  of  returning  the  fire  of  their  enemies,  by- 
throwing  a  few  shot  from  their  hght  field-pieces,  as  if  in  mock- 
ery of  the  tremendous  cannonade  which  they  sustained.  But 
as  the  moment  of  severest  trial  approached,  the  same  awful 
stillness  which  had  settled  upon  the  deserted  streets  of  Charles- 
town  hovered  around  the  redoubt.  On  the  meadows,  to  its 
left,  the  recently  arrived  bands  hastily  threw  the  rails  of  two 
fences  into  one,  and,  covering  the  v/hole  with  the  mown  grass 
that  surrounded  them,  they  posted  themselves  along  the  frail 
defence,  which  answered  no  better  purpose  than  to  conceal  their 
weakness  from  their  adversaries.  Behind  this  characteristic 
rampart,  several  bodies  of  husbandmen,  from  the  neighboring 
provinces  of  New  Hampshire  and  Connecticut,  lay  on  their 
arms,  in  sullen  expectation.  Their  line  extended  from  the  shore 
to  the  base  of  the  ridge,  where  it  terminated  several  hundred 
feet  behind  the  works  ;  leaving  a  wide  opening,  in  a  diagonal 
direction,  between  the  fence  and  an  earthen  breastwork,  which 
ran  a  short  distance  down  the  declivity  of  the  hill,  from  the 
northeastern  angle  of  the  redoubt.  A  few  hundred  yards  in  the 
rear  of  this  rude  disposition,  the  naked  crest  of  Bunker  Hill 
rose,  unoccupied  and  undefended ;  and  the  streams  of  the  Charles 
and  Mystic,  sweeping  around  its  base,  approached  so  near  each 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


225 


other  as  to  blend  the  sounds  of  their  ripphng.  It  was  across 
this  low  and  narrow  isthmus  that  the  royal  frigates  poured  a 
stream  of  fire  that  never  ceased,  while  around  it  hovered  the 
numerous  parties  of  the  undisciplined  Americans,  hesitating  to 
attempt  the  dangerous  passage. 

In  this  manner  Gage  had,  in  a  great  degree,  surrounded  the 
devoted  peninsula  with  his  power  ;  and  the  bold  men,  who  had 
so  daringly  planted  themselves  under  the  muzzles  of  his  cannon, 
were  left,  as  already  stated,  unsupported,  without  nourishment, 
and  with  weapons  from  their  own  gun-hooks,  singly  to  maintain 
the  honor  of  their  nation.  Including  men  of  all  ages  and  con- 
ditions, there  might  have  been  two  thousand  of  them  ;  but,  as 
the  day  advanced,  small  bodies  of  their  countrymen,  taking 
counsel  of  their  feelings,  and  animated  by  the  example  of  the 
old  partisan  of  the  woods,  who  crossed  and  recrossed  the  neck, 
loudly  scoffing  at  the  danger,  broke  through  the  fire  of  the 
shipping  in  time  to  join  in  the  closing  and  bloody  business  of 
the  hour. 

On  the  other  hand,  Howe  led  more  than  an  equal  number  of 
the  chosen  troops  of  his  prince  ;  and  as  boats  continued  to  ply 
between  the  two  peninsulas  throughout  the  afternoon,  the  rela- 
tive disparity  continued  undiminished  to  the  end  of  the  strug- 
gle. It  was  at  this  point  in  our  narrative  that,  deeming  himself 
sufficiently  strong  to  force  the  defences  of  his  despised  foes,  the 
arrangements  immediately  preparatory  to  such  an  undertaking 
were  made  -in  full  view  of  the  excited  spectators.  Notwith- 
standing the  security  with  which  the  English  general  mar- 
shalled his  warriors,  he  felt  that  the  approaching  contest  would 
be  a  battle  of  no  common  incidents.  The  eyes  of  tens  of  thou- 
sands were  fastened  on  his  movements,  and  the  occasion  de- 
manded the  richest  display  of  the  pageantry  of  war. 

The  troops  formed  with  beautiful  accuracy,  and  the  columns 
moved  steadily  along  the  shore,  and  took  their  assigned  stations 
under  cover  of  the  brow  of  the  eminence.  Their  force  was  in 
some  measure  divided  ;  one  moiety  attempting  the  toilsome  as- 


226 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


cent  of  the  hill,  and  the  other  moving  along  the  beach,  or  in 
the  orchards  of  the  more  level  ground,  towards  the  husbandmen 
on  the  meadows.  The  latter  soon  disappeared  behind  some 
fruit-trees  and  the  brick-kilns  just  mentioned.  The  advance  of 
the  royal  columns  up  the  ascent  was  slow  and  measured,  giving 
time  to  their  field-guns  to  add  their  efforts  to  the  uproar  of  the  can- 
nonade, which  broke  out  with  new  fury  as  the  battalions  prepared 
to  march.  When  each  column  arrived  at  the  allotted  point,  it 
spread  the  gallant  array  of  its  glittering  warriors  under  a  bright 
sun. 

"  It  is  a  glorious  spectacle  1"  murmured  the  graceful  chieftain 
by  the  side  of  Lionel,  keenly  alive  to  all  the  poetry  of  his  al- 
luring profession.  "  How  exceeding  soldier-like !  and  with 
what  accuracy  his  'first-arm  ascends  the  hill,'  towards  his 
enemy  I" 

The  intensity  of  his  feelings  prevented  Major  Lincoln  from 
replying,  and  the  other  soon  forgot  that  he  had  spoken,  in  the 
overwhelming  anxiety  of  the  moment.  The  advance  of  the 
British  line,  so  beautiful  and  slow,  resembled  rather  the  ordered 
steadiness  of  a  drill,  than  an  approach  to  a  deadly  struggle. 
Their  standards  fluttered  proudly  above  them  ;  and  there  were 
moments  when  the  wild  music  of  their  bands  was  heard  rising 
on  the  air,  and  tempering  the  ruder  sounds  of  the  artillery. 
The  young  and  thoughtless  in  their  ranks  turned  their  faces 
backward,  and  smiled  exultingly,  as  they  beheld  steeples,  roofs, 
masts,  and  heights,  teeming  with  their  thousands  of  eyes,  bent 
on  the  show  of  their  bright  array.  As  the  British  lines  moved 
in  open  view  of  the  little  redoubt,  and  began  slowly  to  gather 
around  its  different  faces,  gun  after  gun  became  silent,  and  the 
curious  artillerist,  or  tired  seaman,  lay  extended  on  his  heated 
piece,  gazing  in  mute  wonder  at  the  spectacle.  There  w^as  just 
then  a  minute  when  the  roar  of  the  cannonade  seemed  passing 
away  like  the  rumbling  of  distant  thunder. 

"  They  will  not  fight,  Lincoln,"  said  the  animated  leader  at 
the  side  of  Lionel :  "  the  military  front  of  Howe  has  chilled 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


227 


the  hearts  of  the  knaves,  and  our  victory  will  be  blood- 
less !" 

"  We  shall  see,  sir — we  shall  see  !" 

These  words  were  barely  uttered,  when  platoon  after  platoon, 
among  the  British,  delivered  its  fire,  the  blaze  of  musketry 
flashing  swiftly  around  the  brow  of  the  hill,  and  was  immedi- 
ately followed  by  heavy  volleys  that  ascended  from  the  orchard. 
Still  no  answering  sound  was  heard  from  the  Americans, 
and  the  royal  troops  were  soon  lost  to  the  eye,  as  they  slowly 
marched  into  the  white  cloud  which  their  own  fire  had  alone 
created. 

"  They  are  cowed,  by  heavens — the  dogs  are  cowed  !"  once 
more  cried  the  gay  companion  of  Lionel,  "  and  Howe  is  within 
two  hundred  feet  of  them,  unharmed  P 

At  that  instant  a  sheet  of  flame  glanced  through  the  smoke, 
like  lightning  playing  in  a  cloud,  while  at  one  report  a  thousand 
muskets  were  added  to  the  uproar.  It  was  not  altogether  fancy 
which  led  Lionel  to  imagine  that  he  saw  the  smoky  canopy  of 
the  hill  to  wave,  as  if  the  trained  warriors  it  enveloped  faltered 
before  this  close  and  appalling  discharge  ;  but,  in  another  in- 
stant, the  stimulating  war-cry,  and  the  loud  shouts  of  the  com- 
batants, were  borne  across  the  strait  to  his  ears,  even  amid  the 
horrid  din  of  the  combat.  Ten  breathless  minutes  flew  by  like 
a  moment  of  time,  and  the  bewildered  spectators  on  Copp's 
were  still  gazing  intently  on  the  scene,  when  a  voice  was  raised 
among  them,  shouting — 

"  Hurrah  !  let  the  rake-hellies  go  up  to  Breed's — the  people 
will  teach  'em  the  law  !" 

"  Throw  the  rebel  scoundrel  from  the  hill !  Blow  him  from 
the  muzzle  of  a  gun  !"  cried  twenty  soldiers  in  a  breath. 

"Hold!"  exclaimed  Lionel:  "'tis  a  simpleton,  an  idiot,  a  fool!" 

But  the  angry  and  savage  murmurs  as  quickly  subsided,  and 
were  lost  in  other  feehngs,  as  the  bright-red  lines  of  the  royal  ^ 
troops  were  seen  issuing  from  the  smoke,  waving  and  recoiling 
before  the  still  vivid  fire  of  their  enemies. 


228 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Ha  1"  said  Burgoyne  ;  "  'tis  some  feint  to  draw  the  rebels 
from  their  hold  1" 

"  'Tis  a  palpable  and  disgraceful  retreat !"  muttered  the  stern 
warrior  nigh  him,  whose  truer  eye  detected  at  a  glance  the  dis- 
comfiture of  the  assailants.  "  'Tis  another  base  retreat  before 
the  rebels !" 

"  Hurrah  !"  shouted  the  reckless  changeling  again ;  "  there 
come  the  regulars  out  of  the  orchard,  too  !  See  the  grannies 
skulking  behind  the  kilns  !  Let  them  go  on  to  Breed's — the 
people  will  teach  'em  the  law  !" 

'No  cry  of  vengeance  preceded  the  act  this  time,  but  fifty  of 
the  soldiery  rushed,  as  by  a  common  impulse,  on  their  prey. 
Lionel  had  not  time  to  utter  a  word  of  remonstrance,  before  Job 
appeared  in  the  air,  borne  on  the  uplifted  arms  of  a.  dozen  men, 
and  at  the  next  instant  he  was  seen  rolling  down  the  steep  de- 
clivity, with  a  velocity  that  carried  him  to  the  water's  edge. 
Springing  to  his  feet,  the  undaunted  changeling  once  more 
waved  his  hat  in  triumph,  and  shouted  forth  again  his  ofiensive 
challenge.  Then  turning,  he  launched  his  canoe  from  its 
hiding-place  among  the  adjacent  lumber,  amid  a  shower  of 
stones,  and  glided  across  the  strait ;  his  little  bark  escaping  un- 
noticed in  the  crowd  of  boats  that  were  rowing  in  all  direc- 
tions. But  his  progress  was  watched  by  the  uneasy  eye  of 
Lionel,  who  saw  him  land  and  disappear,  with  hasty  steps,  in 
the  silent  streets  of  the  town. 

While  this  trifling  by-play  was  enacting,  the  great  drama  of 
the  day  was  not  at  a  stand.  The  smoky  veil,  which  clung 
around  the  brow  of  the  eminence,  was  lifted  by  the  air,  and 
sailed  heavily  away  to  the  southwest,  leaving  the  scene  of  the 
bloody  struggle  again  open  to  the  view.  Lionel  witnessed  the 
grave  and  meaning  glances  which  the  two  lieutenants  of  tlie 
king  exchanged  as  they  simultaneously  turned  their  glasses 
from  the  fatal  spot,  and,  taking  the  one  proffered  by  Burgoyne, 
he  read  their  explanation  in  the  numbers  of  the  dead  that  lay 
profusely  scattered  in  front  of  the  redoubt.    At  this  instant,  iva 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


229 


officer  from  the  field  held  an  earnest  communication  with  the 
two  leaders ;  when,  having  delivered  his  orders,  he  hastened 
back  to  his  boat,  like  one  who  felt  himself  employed  in  matters 
of  life  and  death. 

"  It  shall  be  done,  sir,"  repeated  Clinton,  as  the  other  depart- 
ed, his  own  honest  brow  sternly  knit  under  high  martial  excite- 
ment. "  The  artillery  have  their  orders,  and  the  work  will  be 
accomplished  without  delay." 

"  This,  Major  Lincoln,"  cried  his  more  sophisticated  compan- 
ion, "  this  is  one  of  the  trying  duties  of  the  soldier  !  To  fight, 
to  bleed,  or  even  to  die,  for  his  prince,  is  his  happy  privilege  ; 
but  it  is  sometimes  his  unfortunate  lot  to  become  the  instrument 
of  vengeance." 

Lionel  waited  but  a  moment  for  an  explanation  :  the  flaming 
balls  were  soon  seen  taking  their  wide  circuit  in  the  air,  and 
carrying  their  desolation  among  the  close  and  inflammable 
roofs  of  the  opposite  town.  In  a  very  few  minutes,  a  dense, 
black  smoke  arose  from  the  deserted  buildings,  and  forked 
flames  played  actively  along  the  heated  shingles,  as  though 
rioting  in  their  unmolested  possession  of  the  place.  He  regard- 
ed the  gathering  destruction  in  painful  silence  ;  and,  on  bend- 
ing his  looks  tovfards  his  companions,  he  fancied,  notwithstand- 
ing the  language  of  the  other,  that  he  read  the  deepest  regret 
in  the  averted  eye  of  him  who  had  so  unhesitatingly  uttered 
the  fatal  mandate  to  destroy. 

In  scenes  like  these  we  are  attempting  to  describe,  hours  ap- 
pear  to  be  minutes,  and  time  flies  as  imperceptibly  as  life  slides 
from  beneath  the  feet  of  age.  The  disordered  ranks  of  the 
British  had  been  arrested  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  and  were 
again  forming  under  the  eyes  of  their  leaders,  with  admirable 
discipline,  and  extraordinary  care.  Fresh  battalions,  from  Bos- 
ton, marched  with  high  military  pride  into  the  line,  and  every 
thing  betokened  that  a  second  assault  was  at  hand.  When  the. 
moment  of  stupid  amazement  which  succeeded  the  retreat  of 
the  royal  troops  had  passed,  the  troops  and  batteries  poured  out 


230 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


tlieir  Avrath  witli  tenfold  fury  on  their  enemies.  Sliot  were  in- 
cessantly glancing  up  the  gentle  acclivity,  madly  ploughing  across 
its  grassy  surface,  while  black  and  threatening  shells  appeared 
to  hover  above  the  work,  like  the  monsters  of  the  air,  about  to 
stoop  upon  their  prey. 

Still  all  lay  quiet  and  immovable  within  the  low  mounds  of 
earth,  as  if  none  there  had  a  stake  in  the  issue  of  the  bloody 
day.  For  a  few  moments  only,  the  tall  figure  of  an  aged  man 
was  seen  slowly  moving  along  the  summit  of  the  rampart, 
calmly  regarding  the  dispositions  of  the  English  general  in  the 
more  distant  part  of  his  line,  and  after  exchanging  a  few  words 
with  a  gentleman,  who  joined  him  in  his  dangerous  lookout, 
they  disappeared  together  behind  the  grassy  banks.  Lionel 
soon  detected  the  name  of  Prescott  of  Pepperel,  passing  through 
the  crowd  in  low  murmurs,  and  his  glass  did  not  deceive  him 
when  he  thought,  in  the  smaller  of  the  two,  he  had  himself 
descried  the  graceful  person  of  the  unknown  leader  of  the 
"  caucus." 

All  eyes  were  now  watching  the  advance  of  the  battalions, 
which  once  more  drew  nigh  the  point  of  contest.  The  heads 
of  the  columns  were  already  in  view  of  their  enemies,  when  a 
man  was  seen  swiftly  ascending  the  hill  from  the  burning  town: 
he  paused  amid  the  peril,  on  the  natural  glacis,  and  swung  his 
hat  triumphantly,  and  Lionel  even  fancied  he  heard  the  exult- 
ing cry,  as  he  recognized  the  ungainly  form  of  the  simpleton, 
before  it  plunged  into  the  work. 

The  right  of  the  British  once  more  disappeared  in  the  or- 
chard, and  the  columns  in  front  of  the  redoubt  again  opened 
with  all  the  imposing  exactness  of  their  high  discipline.  Their 
arms  were  already  glittering  in  a  line  with  the  green  faces  of  the 
mound,  and  Lionel  heard  the  experienced  warrior  at  his  side 
murmuring  to  himself — 

"  Let  him  hold  his  fire,  and  he  will  go  in  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet !" 

But  the  trial  was  too  great  for  even  the  practised  courage  of 


LIo^^:L  Lincoln. 


231 


the  royal  troops.  Volley  succeeded  volley,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments they  had  again  curtained  their  ranks  behind  the  misty 
skreen  produced  by  their  own  fire.  Then  came  the  terrible 
flash  from  the  redoubt,  and  the  eddying  volumes  from  the  ad- 
verse hosts  rolled  into  one  cloud,  enveloping  the  combatants  in 
its  folds,  as  if  to  conceal  their  bloody  work  from  the  spectators. 
Twenty  times,  in  the  short  space  of  as  many  minutes,  Major 
Lincoln  fancied  he  heard  the  incessant  roll  of  the  American 
musketry  die  away  before  the  heavy  and  regular  volleys  of  the 
troops ;  and  then  he  thought  the  sounds  of  the  latter  grew  more 
faint,  and  were  given  at  longer  intervals. 

The  result,  however,  was  soon  known.  The  heavy  bank  of 
smoke,  which  now  even  clung  along  the  ground,  was  broken  in 
fifty  places ;  and  the  disordered  masses  of  the  British  were  seen 
driven  before  their  dehberate  foes  in  wild  confusion.  The  flash- 
ing swords  of  the  oflBcers  in  vain  attempted  to  arrest  the  torrent, 
nor  did  the  flight  cease,  w^ith  many  of  the  regiments,  until  they 
had  even  reached  their  boats.  At  this  moment  a  hum  w^as 
heard  in  Boston,  like  the  sudden  rush  of  wind,  and  men  gazed 
in  each  other's  faces  with  undisguised  amazement.  Here  and 
there  a  low  sound  of  exultation  escaped  some  unguarded  hp, 
and  many  an  eye  gleamed  with  a  triumph  that  could  no  longer 
be  suppressed.  Until  this  moment  the  feelings  of  Lionel  had 
vacillated  between  the  pride  of  country  and  his  military  spirit ; 
but,  losing  all  other  feelings  in  the  latter  sensation,  he  now 
looked  fiercely  about  him,  as  if  he  would  seek  the  man  w'ho 
dare  exult  in  the  repulse  of  his  comrades.  The  poetic  chieftain 
wa3  still  at  his  side,  biting  his  nether  lip  in  vexation  ;  but  his 
more  tried  companion  had  suddenly  disappeared.  Another 
quick  glance  fell  upon  his  missing  form  in  the  act  of  entering  a 
boat  at  the  foot  of  the  hill.  Quicker  than  thought  Lionel  was 
on  the  shore,  crying,  as  he  flew  to  the  water's  edge — 

"Hold  !  for  God's  sake,  hold !  Kemember  the  47th  is  in  the 
field,  and  that  I  am  its  major !" 

"  Receive  him,"  said  Clinton,  with  that  grim  satisfaction  with 


232 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


which  men  acknowledge  a  valued  friend  in  moments  of  great 
trial ;  "  and  then  row  for  your  lives,  or,  what  is  of  more  value, 
for  the  honor  of  the  British  name." 

The  brain  of  Lionel  whirled  as  the  boat  shot  along  its  watery 
bed,  but  before  it  had  gained  the  middle  of  the  stream  he  had 
time  to  consider  the  whole  of  the  appalling  scene.  The  fire 
had  spread  from  house  to  house,  and  the  whole  village  of 
Charlestown,  with  its  four  hundred  buildings,  was  just  bursting 
into  flames.  The  air  seemed  filled  with  whistling  balls,  as  they 
hurtled  above  his  head,  and  the  black  sides  of  the  vessels  of  war 
were  vomiting  their  sheets  of  flame  with  unwearied  industry. 
Amid  this  tumult,  the  English  general  and  his  companions 
sprung  to  land.  The  former  rushed  into  the  disordered  ranks, 
and  by  his  presence  and  voice  recalled  the  men  of  one  regiment 
to  their  duty.  But  long  and  loud  appeals  to  their  spirit  and 
their  ancient  fame  were  necessary  to  restore  a  moiety  of  their 
former  confidence  to  men  who  had  been  thus  rudely  repulsed, 
and  who  now  looked  along  their  thinned  and  exhausted  ranks, 
missing,  in  many  instances,  more  than  half  the  well-known 
countenances  of  their  fellows.  In  the  midst  of  the  faltering 
troops  stood  their  stern  and  unbending  chief ;  but  of  all  those 
gay  and  gallant  youths,  who  followed  in  his  train  as  he  had  de- 
parted from  Province  House  that  morning,  not  one  remained, 
but  in  his  blood.  He  alone  seemed  undisturbed  in  that  dis- 
ordered crowd ;  and  his  mandates  went  forth  as  usual,  calm  and 
determined.  At  length  the  panic,  in  some  degree,  subsided, 
and  order  was  once  more  restored  as  the  high-spirited  and 
mortified  gentlemen  of  the  detachment  regained  their  lost  au- 
thority. 

The  leaders  consulted  together,  apart,  and  the  dispositions 
were  immediately  renewed  for  the  assault.  Mihtary  show  was 
no  longer  afi*ected,  but  the  soldiers  laid  down  all  the  useless  im- 
plements of  their  trade,  and  many  even  cast  aside  their  outer 
garments,  under  the  warmth  of  a  broiling  sun,  added  to  the 
heat  of  the  conflagration,  which  began  to  difluse  itself  aloBg 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


233 


the  extremity  of  the  peninsula.  Fresh  companies  were  placed 
in  the  columns,  and  most  of  the  troops  were  w^ithdrawn  from  the 
meadows,  leaving  merely  a  few  skirmishers  to  amuse  the  Ameri- 
cans who  lay  behind  the  fence.  When  each  disposition  was 
completed,  the  final  signal  w^as  given  to  advance. 

Lionel  had  taken  post  in  his  regiment,  but  marching  on  the 
skirt  of  the  column,  he  commanded  a  view  of  most  of  the 
scene  of  battle.  In  his  front  moved  a  battalion,  reduced  to  a 
handful  of  men  in  the  previous  assaults.  Behind  these  came  a 
party  of  the  marine  guards,  from  the  shipping,  led  by  their  own 
veteran  major ;  and  next  followed  the  dejected  Nesbitt  and  his 
corps,  amongst  whom  Lionel  looked  in  vain  for  the  features  of 
the  good-natured  Polwarth.  Similar  columns  marched  on  their 
right  and  left,  encircling  three  sides  of  the  redoubt  by  their 
battalions. 

A  few  minutes  brought  him  in  full  view  of  that  humble  and 
unfinished  mound  of  earth,  for  the  possession  of  which  so  much 
blood  had  that  day  been  spilt  in  vain.  It  lay,  as  before,  still  as 
if  none  breathed  within  its  bosom,  though  a  terrific  row  of  dark 
tubes  were  arrayed  along  its  top,  following  the  movements  of 
the  approaching  columns,  as  the  eyes  of  the  imaginary  charmers 
of  our  own  wilderness  are  said  to  watch  their  victims.  As  the 
uproar  of  the  artillery  again  grew  fainter,  the  crash  of  falling 
streets,  and  the  appalling  sounds  of  the  conflagration  on  their 
left,  became  more  audible.  Immense  volumes  of  black  smoke 
issued  from  the  smouldering  ruins,  and,  bellying  outward,  fold 
beyond  fold,  it  overhung  the  work  in  a  hideous  cloud,  casting 
its  gloomy  shadow  across  the  place  of  blood. 

A  strong  column  was  now  seen  ascending,  as  if  from  out  the 
burning  town,  and  the  advance  of  the  whole  became  quick  and 
spirited.  A  low  call  ran  through  the  platoons,  to  note  the  naked 
weapons  of  their  adversaries,  and  it  was  followed  by  the  cry  of 
"  To  the  bayonet !  to  the  bayonet !" 

"  Hurrah  !  for  the  Eoyal  Irish  !"  shouted  MTuse,  at  the  head 
of  the  dark  column  from  the  conflagration. 


234 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Hurrah  1"  echxoed  a  well-known  voice  from  the  silent 
mound  ;  "  let  them  come  on  to  Breed's ;  the  people  will  teach 
'em  the  law  1" 

Men  think  at  such  moments  vfith  the  rapidity  of  lightning, 
and  Lionel  had  even  fancied  his  comrades  in  possession  of  the 
work,  when  the  terrible  stream  of  fire  flashed  in  the  faces  of  the 
men  in  front. 

"  Push  on  with  the  th cried  the  veteran  major  of  ma- 
rines— "  push  on,  or  the  1 8th  will  get  the  honor  of  the  day !" 

"  We  cannot,"  murmured  the  soldiers  of  the  — — th ;  "  their 
fire  is  too  heavy  !" 

"  Then  break,  and  let  the  marines  pass  through  you !" 

The  feeble  battalion  melted  away,  and  the  warriors  of  the  deep, 
trained  to  conflicts  of  hand  to  hand,  sprang  forward,  with  a 
loud  shout,  in  their  places.  The  Americans,  exhausted  of  their 
ammunition,  now  sunk  sullenly  back,  a  few  hurling  stones  at 
their  foes  in  desperate  indignation.  The  cannon  of  the  British 
had  been  brought  to  enfilade  their  short  breastwork,  which  was 
no  longer  tenable ;  and  as  the  columns  approached  closer  to  the 
low  rampart,  it  became  a  mutual  protection  to  the  adverse 
parties. 

"  Hurrah  !  for  the  Royal  Irish  !"  again  shouted  M'Fuse,  rush- 
ing up  the  trifling  ascent,  which  was  but  of  little  more  than  his 
own  height. 

"  Hurrah !"  repeated  Pitcairn,  waving  his  sword  on  another 
angle  of  the  work — "  the  day's  our  own  !" 

One  more  sheet  of  flame  issued  out  of  the  bosom  of  the  work, 
and  all  those  brave  men,  who  had  emulated  the  examples  of 
their  ofiicers,  were  swept  away,  as  though  a  whirlwind  had 
passed  along.  The  grenadier  gave  his  war-cry  once  more,  be- 
fore he  pitched  headlong  among  his  enemies ;  while  Pitcairn 
fell  back  into  the  arms  of  his  own  child.  The  cry  of  '  Forward, 
4'7th,'  rung  through  their  ranks,  and  in  their  turn  this  veteran 
battalion  gallantly  mounted  the  ramparts.  In  the  shallow  ditch 
Lionel  passed  the  expiring  marine,  and  caught  the  dying  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


235 


despairing  look  from  his  eyes,  and  in  another  instant  he  found 
himself  in  the  presence  of  his  foes.  As  company  followed  com- 
pany into  the  defenceless  redoubt,  the  Americans  sullenly  retired 
by  its  rear,  keeping  the  bayonets  of  the  soldiers  at  bay  with 
clubbed  muskets  and  sinewy  arms.  "When  the  whole  issued 
upon  the  open  ground,  the  husbandmen  received  a  close  and 
fatal  fire  from  the  battalions,  which  were  now  gathering  around 
them  on  three  sides.  A  scene  of  wild  and  savage  confusion 
then  succeeded  to  the  order  of  the  fight,  and  many  fatal  blows 
were  given  and  taken,  the  melee  rendering  the  use  of  firearms 
nearly  impossible  for  several  minutes. 

Lionel  continued  in  advance,  pressing  on  the  footsteps  of  the 
retiring  foe,  stepping  over  many  a  lifeless  body  in  his  difficult 
progress.  JSTotwithstanding  the  hurry,  and  vast  disorder  of  the 
fray,  his  eye  fell  on  the  form  of  the  graceful  stranger,  stretched 
lifeless  on  the  parched  grass,  which  had  greedily  drank  his  blood. 
Amid  the  ferocious  cries,  and  fiercer  passions  of  the  moment, 
the  young  man  paused,  and  glanced  his  eyes  around  him  with 
an  expression  that  said,  he  thought  the  work  of  death  should 
cease.  At  this  instant  the  trappings  of  his  attire  caught  the 
glaring  eyeballs  of  a  dying  yeoman,  who  exerted  his  wasting 
strength  to  sacrifice  one  more  worthy  victim  to  the  manes  of  his 
countrymen.  The  whole  of  the  tumultuous  scene  vanished 
from  the  senses  of  Lionel  at  the  flash  of  the  musket  of  this  man, 
and  he  sunk  beneath  the  feet  of  the  combatants,  insensible  of 
further  triumph,  and  of  every  danger. 

The  fall  of  a  single  officer,  in  such  a  contest,  was  a  circum- 
stance not  to  be  regarded ;  and  regiments  passed  over  him, 
without  a  single  man  stooping  to  inquire  into  his  fate.  When 
the  Americans  had  disengaged  themselves  from  the  troops,  they 
descended  into  the  little  hollow  between  the  two  hills,  swiftly, 
and  like  a  disordered  crowd,  bearing  ofi*  most  of  their  wounded, 
and  leaving  but  few  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  their  foes.  The 
formation  of  the  ground  favored  their  retreat,  as  hundreds  of 
bullets  whistled  harmlessly  above  their  heads ;  and  by  the  time 


236 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


they  gained  the  acclivity  of  Bunker,  distance  was  added  to  their 
security.  Finding  the  field  lost,  the  men  at  the  fence  broke 
away  in  a  body  from  their  position,  and  abandoned  the  mead- 
ows ;  the  whole  moving  in  confused  masses  behind  the  crest  of 
the  adjacent  height.  The  shouting  soldiery  followed  in  their 
footsteps,  pouring  in  fruitless  and  distant  volleys ;  but  on  the 
summit  of  Bunker  their  tired  platoons  were  halted,  and  they 
beheld  the  throng  move  fearlessly  through  the  tremendous  fire 
that  enfiladed  the  low  pass,  as  little  injured  as  though  most  of 
them  bore  charmed  lives. 

The  day  was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  With  the  disappear- 
ance of  their  enemies,  the  ships  and  batteries  ceased  their  can- 
nonade ;  and  presently  not  a  musket  was  heard  in  that  place, 
where  so  fierce  a  contest  had  so  long  raged.  The  troops  com- 
menced fortifying  the  outward  eminence,  on  which  they  rested, 
in  order  to  maintain  their  barren  conquest ;  and  nothing  further 
remained  for  the  achievement  of  the  royal  lieutenants,  but  to  go 
and  mourn  over  their  victory. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


237 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

"  She  speaks,  yet  she  says  nothing :  what  of  that  ? 
Her  eye  discourses — I  will  answer  it." 

E0M£O. 

Although  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  was  fought  while  the 
grass  yet  lay  on  the  meadows,  the  heats  of  summer  had  been 
followed  by  the  nipping  frosts  of  November ;  the  leaf  had 
fallen  in  its  hour,  and  the  tempests  and  biting  colds  of  February 
had  succeeded,  before  Major  Lincoln  left  that  couch  where 
he  had  been  laid,  when  carried,  in  total  helplessness,  from  the 
fatal  heights  of  the  peninsula.  Throughout  the  whole  of  that 
long  period,  the  hidden  bullet  had  defied  the  utmost  skill  of  the 
British  surgeons ;  nor  could  all  their  science  and  experience 
embolden  them  to  risk  cutting  certain  arteries  and  tendons  in 
the  body  of  the  heir  of  Lincoln,  which  were  thought  to  ob- 
struct the  passage  to  that  obstinate  lead,  which,  all  agreed, 
alone  impeded  the  recovery  of  the  unfortunate  sufferer.  This 
indecision  was  one  of  the  penalties  that  poor  Lionel  paid  for 
his  greatness ;  for  had  it  been  Meriton  who  lingered,  instead  of 
his  master,  it  is  quite  probable  the  case  would  have  been  deter- 
mined at  a  much  earlier  hour.  At  length,  a  young  and  enter- 
prising leech,  with  the  world  before  him,  arrived  from  Europe, 
who,  possessing  greater  skill  or  more  effrontery  (the  effects  are 
sometimes  the  same)  than  his  fellows,  did  not  hesitate  to  decide 
at  once  on  the  expediency  of  an  operation.  The  medical  staff 
of  the  army  sneered  at  this  bold  innovator,  and  at  first  were 
content  with  such  silent  testimonials  of  their  contempt.  But 
when  the  friends  of  the  patient,  listening,  as  usual,  to  the  whis- 
perings of  hope,  consented  that  the  confident  man  of  probes 
should  use  his  instruments,  the  voices  of  his  contemporaries 


238 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


became  not  only  loud,  but  clamorous.  There  was  a  day  or  two 
when  even  the  watch- worn  and  jaded  subalterns  of  the  army 
forgot  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  the  siege,  to  attend  with 
demure  and  instructed  countenances  to  the  unintelligible  jargon 
of  the  "  Medici "  of  their  camp  ;  and  men  grew  pale,  as  they 
listened,  who  had  never  been  known  to  exhibit  any  symptoms 
of  the  disgraceful  passion  before  their  more  acknowledged  ene- 
mies. But  when  it  became  known  that  the  ball  was  safely  ex- 
tracted, and  the  patient  was  pronounced  convalescent,  a  calm 
succeeded,  that  was  much  more  portentous  to  the  human  race 
than  the  preceding  tempest ;  and  in  a  short  time  the  daring 
practitionei'  was  universally  acknowledged  to  be  the  founder 
of  a  new  theory.  The  degrees  of  M.  D.  were  showered  upon 
his  honored  head  from  half  tha  learned  bodies  in  Christendom, 
while  many  of  his  enthusiastic  admirers  and  imitators  became 
justly  entitled  to  the  use  of  the  same  magical  symbols,  as  an- 
nexments  to  their  patronymics,  with  the  addition  of  the  first 
letter  in  the  alphabet.  The  ancient  reasoning  was  altered  to 
suit  the  modern  facts,  and  -before  the  war  was  ended,  some 
thousands  of  ^'^he  servants  of  the  crown,  and  not  a  few  of  the 
patriotic  colonists,  were  thought  to  have  died,  scientifically, 
under  the  favor  of  this  important  discovery. 

We  might  devote  a  chapter  to  the  minute  promulgation  of 
such  an  event,  had  not  more  recent  philosophers  long  since 
upset  the  practice  (in  which  case  the  theory  seems  to  fall,  as  a 
matter  of  course),  by  a  renewal  of  those  bold  adventures,  which 
teach  us,  occasionally,  something  new  in  the  anatomy  of  man  ; 
as  in  the  science  of  geography,  the  sealers  of  New  England 
have  been  able  to  discover  Terra  Australia,  where  Cook  saw 
nothing  but  water ;  or  Parry  finds  veins  and  arteries  in  that 
part  of  the  American  continent  w^hich  had  so  long  been  thought 
to  consist  of  worthless  cartilage. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  efiects  of  the  operation  on  the 
surgical  science,  it  was  healthful,  in  the  first  degree,  to  its  sub- 
ject.   For  seven  weary  months  Lionel  lay  in  a  state  in  which 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


239 


he  might  be  said  to  exist,  instead  of  live,  but  little  conscious  of 
surrounding  occurrences;  and,  happily  for  himself,  nearly  in- 
sensible to  pain  and  anxiety.  At  moments  the  flame  of  life 
would  apparently  glimmer  like  the  dying  lamp,  and  then  both 
the  fears  and  hopes  of  his  attendants  were  disappointed,  as  the 
patient  dropped  again  into  that  state  of  apathy  in  which  so 
much  of  his  time  was  wasted.  From  an  erroneous  opinion  of 
his  master's  sufferings,  Meriton  had  been  induced  to  make  a 
free  use  of  soporifics,  and  no  small  part  of  Lionel's  insensibility 
was  produced  by  an  excessive  use  of  that  laudanum,  for  which 
he  was  indebted  to  the  mistaken  humanity  of  his  valet.  At  the 
moment  of  the  operation,  the  adventurous  surgeon  had  availed 
himself  of  the  same  stupefying  drug,  and  many  days  of  dull, 
heavy,  and  alarming  apathy  succeeded,  before  his  system,  find- 
ing itself  relieved  from  its  unnatural  inmate,  resumed  its  health- 
ful functions,  and  began  to  renew  its  powers.  By  a  singular 
good  fortune,  his  leech  was  too  much  occupied  by  his  own  novel 
honors,  to  follow  up  his  success,  secundem  artem,  as  a  great 
general  pushes  a  victory  to  the  utmost ;  and  that  matchless 
doctor,  Nature,  was  permitted  to  complete  the  cure. 

When  the  effects  of  the  anodynes  had  subsided,  the  patient 
found  himself  entirely  free  from  uneasiness,  and  dropped  into  a 
sweet  and  refreshing  sleep,  that  lasted  for  many  hours  without 
interruption.  He  awoke  a  new  man ;  with  his  body  renovated, 
his  head  clear,  and  his  recollections,  though  a  little  confused 
and  wandering,  certainly  better  than  they  had  been  since  the 
moment  when  he  fell  in  the  mel^e  on  Breed's.  This  restoration 
to  all  the  nobler  properties  of  life  occurred  about  the  tenth 
hour  of  the  day ;  and  as  Lionel  opened  his  eyes,  with  under- 
standing in  their  expression,  they  fell  upon  a  cheerfulness  which 
a  bright  sun,  assisted  by  the  dazzling  hght  of  the  masses  of 
snow  without,  had  lent  to  every  object  in  his  apartment.  The 
curtains  of  the  windows  had  been  opened,  and  every  article  of 
the  furniture  was  arranged  with  a  neatness  that  manifested  the 
studied  care  which  presided  over  his  illness.    In  one  corner,  it 


240 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


is  true,  Meriton  had  established  himself  in  an  easy-chair,  with  an 
arrangement  of  attitude  which  spoke  more  in  favor  of  his  con- 
sideration for  the  valet  than  the  master,  while  he  was  comfort- 
ing his  faculties  for  a  night  of  watchfulness,  by  the  sw^eet,  be- 
cause stolen,  slumbers  of  the  morning. 

A  flood  of  recollections  broke  into  the  mind  of  Lionel  to- 
gether, and  it  was  some  little  time  before  he  could  so  far  sep- 
arate the  true  from  the  imaginary,  as  to  attain  a  tolerably  clear 
comprehension  of  what  had  occurred  in  the  little  age  he  had 
been  dozing.  Eaising  himself  on  one  elbow,  without  difficulty, 
he  passed  his  hand  once  or  twice  slowly  over  his  face,  and  then 
trusted  his  voice  in  a  summons  to  his  man.  Meriton  started  at 
the  well-known  sounds,  and  after  diligently  rubbing  his  eyes, 
like  one  who  awakes  by  surprise,  he  arose  and  gave  the  cus- 
tomary reply. 

"  How  now,  Meriton  !"  exclaimed  Major  Lincoln  ;  "  you  sleep 
as  sound  as  a  recruit  on  post,  and  I  suppose  you  have  been  sta- 
tioned like  one,  with  twice-told  orders  to  be  vigilant." 

The  valet  stood  w^ith  open  mouth,  as  if  ready  to  devour  his 
master's  words  with  more  senses  than  one ;  and  then,  as  Lionel 
concluded,  passed  his  hands  in  quick  succession  over  his  eyes, 
as  before,  though  with  a  very  diflerent  object,  ere  he  an- 
swered— 

"  Thank  God,  sir,  thank  God  !  you  look  like  yourself  once 
more,  and  we  shall  live  again  as  we  used  to.  Yes,  yes,  sir — 
you'll  do  now — you'll  do  this  time.  That's  a  miracle  of  a  man, 
is  the  great  Lon'non  surgeon !  and  now  we  shall  go  back  to 
Soho,  and  live  like  civilizers.  Thank  God,  sir,  thank  God  !  you 
smile  again ;  and  I  hope  if  any  thing  should  go  wTong,  you'll 
soon  be  able  to  give  me  one  of  those  awful  looks  that  I  am  so 
used  to,  and  which  makes  my  heart  jump  into  my  mouth,  when 
I  know  I've  been  forgetful !" 

The  poor  fellow,  in  whom  long  service  had  created  a  deep 
attachment  to  his  master,  which  had  been  greatly  increased  by 
the  solicitude  of  a  nurse,  was  compelled  to  cease  his  uncon- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


241 


nected  expressions  of  joy,  while  lie  actually  wept.  Lionel  was 
too  much  affected  by  this  evidence  of  feeling,  to  continue  the 
dialogue,  for  several  minutes ;  during  which  time  he  employed 
himself  in  putting  on  part  of  his  attire,  assisted  by  the  gulping 
valet,  when,  drawing  his  robe-de-chambre  around  his  person, 
he  leaned  on  the  shoulder  of  his  man,  and  took  the  seat  which 
thi  other  had  so  recently  quitted. 

"  Well,  well,  Meriton,  that  will  do,"  said  Lionel,  giving  a 
deep  hem,  as  though  his  breathing  was  obstructed  ;  "  that  will 
do,  silly  fellow  ;  I  trust  I  shall  live  to  give  you  many  a  frown, 
and  some  few  guineas,  yet.    I  have  been  shot,  I  know — " 

"  Shot,  sir !"  interrupted  the  valet — "  you  have  been  down- 
right and  unlawfully  murdered  !  you  were  first  shot,  and  then 
baggoneted,  and  after  that  a  troop  of  horse  rode  over  you.  I 
had  it  from  one  of  the  Royal  Irish,  who  lay  by  your  side  the 
whole  time,  and  who  now  lives  to  tell  of  it ;  a  good  honest  fel- 
,low  is  Terence ;  and  if  such  a  thing  was  possible  that  your 
honor  was  poor  enough  to  need  a  pension,  he  would  cheerfully 
swear  to  your  hurts  at  the  King's  Bench,  or  War  Office  ;  Bride- 
well, or  St.  James's ;  it's  all  one  to  the  like  of  him." 

"  I  dare  say,  I  dare  say,"  said  Lionel,  smiling,  though  he 
mechanically  passed  his  hand  over  his  body,  as  his  valet  spoke 
of  the  bayonet — "  but  the  poor  fellow  must  have  transferred 
some  of  his  own  wounds  to  my  person  :  I  own  the  bullet,  but 
object  to  the  cavalry  and  the  steel." 

"  K'o,  sir,  /  own  the  bullet,  and  it  shall  be  buried  with  me  in 
my  dressing-box,  at  the  head  of  my  grave,"  said  Meriton,  ex- 
hibiting  the  flattened  bit  of  lead,  exultingly,  in  the  palm  of  his 
hand  ;  "  it  has  been  in  my  pocket  these  thirteen  days,  after  tor- 
menting your  honor  for  six  long  months,  hid  in  the  what  d'ye 
call  'em  muscles,  away  behind  the  thingumy  artery.  But  snug 
as  it  was,  we  got  it  out !  He  is  a  miracle,  is  the  great  Lon'non 
surgeon !" 

Lionel- reached  over  to  his  purse,  which  Meritou  had  placed 
regularly  on  the  table,  each  morning,  in  order  to  remove  it 


242 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


again  at  night,  and,  dropping  several  guineas  in  tlie  hand  of  his 
valet,  said — 

"  So  much  lead  must  need  some  gold  to  sweeten  it.    Put  up 
the  unseemly  thing,  and  never  let  me  see  it  again  !" 

Meriton  coolly  took  the  opposing  metals,  and  after  glancing 
his  eyes  at  the  guineas,  with  a  readiness  that  embraced  their 
amount  in  a  single  look,  he  dropped  them  carelessly  into  one 
pocket,  while  he  restored  the  lead  to  the  other  with  an  exceed- 
ing attention  to  its  preservation.  He  then  turned  his  hand  to 
the  customary  duties  of  his  station. 

"  I  remember  well  to  have  been  in  a  fight  on  the  heights  of 
Charlestown,  even  to  the  instant  when  I  got  my  hurt,"  continued 
nis  master ;  "  and  I  even  recollect  many  things  that  have  occur- 
red since  ;  a  period  which  appears  like  a  whole  life  to  me.  But 
after  all,  Meriton,  I  believe  my  ideas  have  not  been  remarkable 
for  their  clearness." 

"Lord,  sir,  you  have  talked  to  me,  and  scolded  me,  and* 
praised  me,  a  hundred  and  a  hundred  times  over  again ;  but 
you  have  never  scolded  as  sharp  like  as  you  can,  nor  have  you 
ever  spoken  and  looked  as  bright  as  you  do  this  morning  1" 

"  I  am  in  the  house  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,"  again  continued  Li- 
onel, examining  the  room ;  I  know  this  apartment  and  those 
private  doors  too  well  to  be  mistaken." 

"  To  be  sure  you  are,  sir ;  Madam  Lechmere  had  you  brought 
here  from  the  field  to  her  own  house,  and  one  of  the  best  it  is 
in  Boston,  too :  and  I  expect  that  madam  would  some  how  lose 
her  title  to  it,  if  any  thing  serious  should  happen  to  us !" 

"  Such  as  a  bayonet,  or  a  troop  of  horse !  but  why  do  you 
fancy  any  such  thing  ?" 

"Because,  sir,  when  madam  comes  here  of  an  afternoon, 
which  she  did  daily,  before  she  sickened,  I  heard  her  very  often 
gay  to  herself,  if  you  should  be  so  unfortunate  as  to  die,  there 
would  be  an  end  to  all  her  hopes  of  her  house." 

"  Then  it  is  Mrs.  Lechmere  who  visits  me  daily,"  said  Lionel, 
thoughtfully ;  "  I  have  recollections  of  a  female  form  hovering 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


243 


around  my  bed,  though  I  had  supposed  it  more  youthful  and 
active  than  that  of  my  aunt." 

"  And  you  are  quite  right,  sir ;  you  have  had  such  a  nurse 
the  whole  time  as  is  seldom  to  be  met  with.  For  making  a 
posset  or  a  gruel,  I'll  match  her  with  the  oldest  woman  in  the 
wards  of  Guy's ;  and,  to  my  taste,  the  best  bar-keeper  at  the 
Lon'non  is  a  fool  to  her  at  a  negus." 

"  These  are  high  accomplishments,  indeed  !  and  who  may  be 
their  mistress 

"  Miss  Agnus,  sir ;  a  rare  good  nurse  is  Miss  Agnus  Danforth  1 
though  in  point  of  regard  to  the  troops,  I  shouldn't  presume  to 
call  her  at  all  distinguishable." 

"Miss  Danforth,"  repeated  Lionel,  dropping  his  expecting 
ey'ss,  in  disappointment,  from  the  face  of  Meriton  to  the  floor ; 
"  I  hope  she  has  not  sustained  all  this  trouble  on  my  account 
alone  ?  There  are  women  enough  in  the  establishment :  one 
would  think  such  offices  might  be  borne  by  the  domestics  ;  in 
short,  Meriton,  was  she  without  an  assistant  in  all  these  little 
kindnesses  ?" 

"  /  helped  her,  you  know,  sir,  all  I  could ;  though  my  ne- 
guses never  touch  the  right  spot,  like  Miss  Agnus's." 

"  One  would  think,  by  your  account,  that  I  have  done  little 
else  than  guzzle  port  wine  for  six  months,"  said  Lionel,  pet- 
tishly. 

"  Lord,  sir,  you  wouldn' t  drink  a  thimblefull  from  a  glass, 
often ;  which  I  always  took  for  a  bad  symptom  ;  for  I'm  certain 
'twas  no  fault  of  the  liquor,  if  it  wasn't  drunk." 

"  Well,  enough  of  your  favorite  beverage !  I  sicken  at  the 
name  already.  But,  Meriton,  have  not  others  of  my  friends 
called  to  inquire  after  my  fapte  ?" 

"  Certainly,  sir  :  the  commander-in-chief  sends  an  aid  or  a 
servant  every  day  ;  and  Lord  Percy  left  his  card  more  than — ^" 

"  Poh  !  these  are  calls  of  courtesy.  But  I  have  relatives  in 
Bf  ston — Miss  Dynevor,  has  she  left  the  town  ?" 

"  No,  sir,"  said  the  valet,  very  coolly  resuming  the  duty  of 


244 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


arranging  tlie  vials  on  the  night-table  :  "  she  is  not  much  of  a 
moving  body,  is  that  Miss  Cecil." 

"  She  is  not  ill,  I  trust  ?"  demanded  Lionel. 

"  Lord,  it  goes  through  me,  part  joy  and  part  fear,  to  hear  you 
speak  again  so  quick  and  brisk,  sir !  No,  she  isn't  downright 
ailing,  but  she  hasn't  the  life  and  knowledge  of  things,  as  her 
cousin.  Miss  Agnus." 

"  Why  do  you  think  so,  fellow 

"  Because,  sir,  she  is  mopy,  and  don't  turn  her  hand  to  any 
of  the  light  lady's  work  in  the  family.  I  have  seen  her  sit  in 
that  very  chair,  where  you  are  now,  sir,  for  hours  together, 
without  moving ;  unless  it  was  some  nervous  start  when  you 
groaned,  or  breathed  a  little  upward  through  your  honor's  nose. 
I  have  taken  it  into  my  consideration,  sir,  that  she  poetizes ;  at 
all  events,  she  likes  what  I  calls  quietude." 

"  Indeed  !"  said  Lionel,  pursuing  the  conversation  with  an  in- 
terest that  would  have  struck  a  more  observant  man  as  remark- 
able. "  What  reason  have  you  for  suspecting  Miss  Dynevor  of 
manufacturing  rhymes  ?" 

"  Because,  sir,  she  has  often  a  bit  of  paper  in  her  hand  ;  and 
I  have  seen  her  read  the  same  thing  over  and  over  again,  till 
I'm  sure  she  must  know  it  by  heart ;  which  your  poetizers  al- 
ways do  with  what  they  writes." 

"  Perhaps  it  was  a  letter  ?"  cried  Lionel,  with  a  quickness 
that  caused  Meriton  to  drop  a  vial  he  was  dusting,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  its  contents. 

"  Bless  me.  Master  Lionel,  how  strong,  and  like  old  times,  you 
speak  !" 

"  I  beheve  I  am  amazed  to  find  you  know  so  much  of  the  di- 
vine art,  Meriton." 

"  Practice  makes  perfect,  you  know,  sir,"  said  the  simpering 
valet.  "  I  can't  say  I  ever  did  much  in  that  way,  though  I 
wrote  some  verses  on  a  pet  pig,  as  died  down  at  RavensclifFe, 
the  last  time  we  was  there  ;  and  I  got  considerable  eclaw  for  a 
few  lines  on  a  vase  w^hich  Lady  Bab's  woman  broke  one  day,  in 


hi  O  N  iHL  LINCOLN. 


245 


a  scuffle,  when  the  foolish  creature  said  as  I  wanted  to  kiss  her ; 
though  all  that  knows  me,  knows  that  I  needn't  break  vases  to 
get  kisses  from  the  like  of  her  !" 

"  Very  well,"  said  Lionel :  "  some  day,  when  I  am  stronger, 
I  may  like  to  be  indulged  with  a  perusal.  Go  now,  Meriton,  to 
the  larder,  and  look  about  you  :  I  feel  the  symptoms  of  return- 
ing health  grow  strong  upon  me." 

The  gratified  valet  instantly  departed,  leaving  his  master  to 
the  musings  of  his  own  busy  fancy. 

Several  minutes  passed  away  before  the  young  man  raised  his 
head  from  the  hand  that  supported  it,  and  then  it  was  only  done 
when  he  thought  he  heard  a  light  footstep  near  him.  His  ear 
had  not  deceived  him,  for  Cecil  Dynevor  herself  stood  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  chair,  which  concealed,  in  a  great  measure,  his 
person  from  her  view.  It  was  apparent,  by  her  attitude  and  her 
tread,  that  she  expected  to  find  the  sick  where  she  had  seen  him 
last,  and  where,  for  so  many  dreary  months,  his  listless  form  had 
been  stretched  in  apathy.  Lionel  followed  her  graceful  move- 
ments with  his  eyes,  and  as  the  airy  band  of  her  morning-cap 
waved  aside  at  her  own  breathing,  he  discovered  the  unnatural 
paleness  that  was  seated  on  her  speaking  features.  But  when 
she  drew  the  folds  of  the  bed-curtains,  and  missed  the  invalid, 
thought  is  not  quicker  than  the  motion  with  which  she  turned 
her  hght  person  towards  the  chair.  Here  she  encountered  the 
eyes  of  the  young  man,  beaming  on  her  with  delight,  and  ex- 
pressing all  that  animation  and  intelhgence,  to  which  they  had 
so  long  been  strangers.  Yielding  to  the  surprise  and  the  gush 
of  her  feelings,  Cecil  flew  to  his  feet,  and  clasping  one  of  his  ex- 
tended hands  in  both  her  own,  she  cried — 

"  Lionel,  dear  Lionel,  you  are  better  !  God  be  praised,  you 
look  well  again !" 

Lionel  gently  extricated  his  hand  from  the  warm  and  un- 
guarded pressure  of  her  soft  fingers,  and  drew  forth  a  paper 
which  she  had  unconsciously  committed  to  his  keeping. 

"  This,  dearest  Cecil,"  he  whispered  to  the  blushing  maiden, 


246 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


this  is  my  own  letter,  written  when  I  knew  my  life  to  bo  at 
imminent  hazard,  and  speaking  the  purest  thoughts  of  my  heart. 
Tell  me,  then,  it  has  not  been  thus  kept  for  nothing  ?" 

Cecil  dropped  her  face  between  her  hands  for  a  mcment,  in 
burning  shame,  and  then,  as  all  the  emotions  of  the  moment 
crowded  around  her  heart,  she  yielded  to  them  as  a  woman,  and 
burst  into  a  paroxysm  of  tears.  It  is  needless  to  dwell  on  those 
consoling  and  seducing  speeches  of  the  young  man,  which  soon 
succeeded  in  luring  his  companion  not  only  from  her  sobs,  but 
even  from  her  confusion,  and  permitted  her  to  raise  her  beauti- 
ful countenance  to  his  ardent  gaze,  bright  and  confiding  as  his 
fondest  wishes  could  have  made  it. 

The  letter  of  Lionel  was  too  direct,  not  to  save  her  pride,  and 
it  had  been  too  often  perused  for  a  single  sentence  to  be  soon 
forgotten.  Besides,  Cecil  had  watched  over  his  couch  too  fondly 
and  too  long,  to  indulge  in  any  of  those  little  coquetries  which 
are  sometimes  met  with  in  similar  scenes.  She  said  all  that  an 
affectionate,  generous,  and  modest  female  would  say  on  such  an 
occasion ;  and  it  is  certain  that,  well  as  Lionel  looked  on  waking, 
the  little  she  uttered  had  the  effect  to  improve  his  appearance 
tenfold. 

"  And  you  received  my  letter  on  the  morning  after  the  bat- 
tle ?"  said  Lionel,  leaning  fondly  over  her,  as  she  still,  uncon- 
sciously, kneeled  by  his  side. 

"  Yes — yes  :  it  was  your  order  that  it  should  be  sent  to  me 
only  in  case  of  your  death  ;  but  for  more  than  a  month  you 
were  numbered  as  among  the  dead  by  us  all.  Oh !  what  a 
month  was  that !" 

"  'Tis  past,  my  sweet  friend,  and,  God  be  praised,  I  may  now 
look  forward  to  health  and  happiness." 

"  God  be  praised,  indeed  !"  murmured  Cecil,  the  tears  again 
rushing  to  her  eyes.  "  I  would  not  live  that  month  over  again, 
Lionel,  for  all  that  this  world  can  offer  !" 

"  Dearest  Cecil,"  he  replied,  "  I  can  only  repay  this  kindness 
and  suffering  on  my  account,  by  shielding  you  from  the  rude 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


247 


contact  oi  the  world,  even  as  your  father  would  protect  you, 
were  he  again  in  being." 

She  looked  up  in  his  face  with  all  the  soul  of  a  woman's  con- 
fidence beaming  in  her  eyes,  as  she  answered — 

"  You  will,  Lincoln,  I  know  you  will  :  you  have  sworn  it,  and 
I  should  be  a  wretch  to  doubt  you." 

He  drew  her  unresisting  form  into  his  arms,  and  folded  her  to 
his  bosom.  In  another  moment,  a  noise,  like  one  ascending  the 
stairs,  was  heard  through  the  open  door  of  the  room,  when  all 
the  feelings  of  her  sex  rushed  to  the  breast  of  Cecil.  She 
sprung  on  her  feet,  and,  hardly  allowing  time  to  the  delighted 
Lionel  to  note  the  burning  tints  that  suffused  her  whole  face, 
she  darted  from  the  room  with  the  rapidity  and  hghtness  of  an 
antelope. 


248 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

*'  Dead,  for  a  ducat,  dead." 

Hamlet. 

While  Licnel  was  in  the  confusion  of  feeling  produced  by 
the  foregoing  scene,  the  intruder,  after  a  prelude  of  singularly- 
heavy  and  loud  steps,  on  the  floor,  as  if  some  one  approached 
on  crutches,  entered  by  a  door  opposite  to  the  one  through 
which  Cecil  had  so  suddenly  vanished.  At  the  next  moment 
the  convalescent  was  saluted  by  the  full,  cheerful  voice  of  his 
visitor — 

"  God  bless  you,  Leo,  and  bless  the  whole  of  us,  for  we  need 
it !"  cried  Polwarth,  eagerly  advancing  to  grasp  the  extended 
hands  of  his  friend.  "  Meriton  has  told  me  that  you  have  got 
the  true  mark  of  health — a  good  appetite — at  last.  I  should 
have  broken  my  neck  in  hurrying  up  to  wish  you  joy  on  the 
moment,  but  I  just  stepped  into  the  kitchen,  without  Mrs.  Lech- 
mere's  leave,  to  show  her  cook  how  to  broil  the  steak  they  are 
warming  through  for  you — a  capital  thing  after  a  long  nap,  and 
full  of  nutriment — God  bless  you,  my  dear  Leo  :  the  look  of 
your  bright  eye  is  as  stimulating  to  my  spirits  as  a  West  India 
pepper  is  to  the  stomach." 

Polwarth  ceased  shaking  the  hands  of  his  reanimated  friend, 
as  with  a  husky  voice  he  concluded,  and  turning  aside  under 
the  pretence  of  reaching  a  chair,  he  dashed  his  hand  before  his 
eyes,  gave  a  loud  hem,  and  took  his  seat  in  silence.  During 
tlie  performance  of  this  evokition,  Lionel  had  leisure  to  observe 
the  altered  person  of  the  captain.  Ilis  form,  though  still  ro- 
tund, and  even  corpulent,  vras  much  reduced  in  dimensions, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


249 


while,  in  the  place  of  one  of  those  lower  members,  with  whi(ih 
nature  furnishes  the  human  race,  he  had  been  compelled  to  sub- 
stitute a  leg  of  wood,  somewhat  in  artificially  made,  and  roughly- 
shod  with  iron.  This  last  sad  alteration,  in  particular,  attracted 
the  look  of  Major  Lincoln,  who  continued  to  gaze  at  it  with 
glistening  eyes,  for  some  time  after  the  other  had  established 
himself,  to  his  entire  satisfaction,  in  one  of  the  cushioned  seats 
of  the  apartment. 

"  I  see  my  frame-work  has  caught  your  eye,  Leo,"  said  Pol- 
warth,  raising  the  wooden  substitute  with  an  air  of  affected  in- 
difference, and  tapping  it  lightly  with  his  cane.  "  'Tis  not  as 
gracefully  cut,  perhaps,  as  if  it  had  been  turned  from  the 
hands  of  Master  Phidias ;  but  in  a  place  like  Boston,  it  is  an 
invaluable  member,  inasmuch  as  it  knows  neither  hunger  nor 
cold." 

"  The  Americans,  then,  press  the  town,"  said  Lionel,  glad  to 
turn  the  subject,  "  and  maintain  the  siege  with  vigor  ?" 

"  They  have  kept  us  in  horrible  bodily  terror,  ever  since  the 
shallow  waters  towards  the  main-land  have  been  frozen,  and 
opened  a  path  directly  into  the  heart  of  the  place.  Their  Vir- 
ginian generalissimo,  Washington,  appeared  a  short  time  after 
the  affair  over  on  the  other  peninsula  (a  cursed  business  that, 
Leo !),  and  with  him  came  all  the  trimmings  of  a  large 
army.  Since  that  time  they  have  worn  a  more  military  front, 
though  little  eke  has  been  done,  excepting  an  occasional  skir- 
mish, but  cooping  us  up,  like  so  many  uneasy  pigeons,  in  our 
cage." 

"  And  Gage  chafes  not  at  the  confinement  ?" 

"  Gage  ! — we  sent  him  off  like  the  soups,  months  ago.  No, 
no — the  moment  the  ministry  discovered  that  we  had  come  to 
our  forks,  in  good  earnest,  they  chose  Black  Billy  to  preside  : 
and  now  we  stand  at  bay  with  the  rebels,  who  have  already 
learnt  that  our  leader  is  not  a  child  at  the  grand  entertainment 
of  war." 

"  Yes,  seconded  by  such  men  as  Clinton  and  Burgoyne,  and 


250 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


BujDported  by  the  flower  of  our  troops^  the  position  can  be  easily 
maintained." 

"  No  position  can  be  easily  maintained,  Major  Lincoln,"  said 
Polwarth,  promptly,  "  in  the  face  of  starvation,  both  internal 
and  external." 

"  And  is  the  case  so  desperate  ?" 

"  Of  that  you  shall  judge  yourself,  my  friend?  When  Parha- 
]nent  shut  the  port  of  Boston,  the  colonies  were  filled  with 
grumblers  ;  and  now  we  have  opened  it,  and  would  be  glad  to 
see  their  supplies,  the  devil  a  craft  enters  the  harbor  willingly  ! 
Ah  !  Meriton,  you  have  the  steak,  I  see ;  put  it  here,  where 
your  master  can  have  it  at  his  elbow,  and  bring  another  plate — 
I  breakfasted  but  indifferently  well  this  morning.  So  we  are 
thrown  completely  on  our  own  resources.  But  the  rebels  do 
not  let  us  enjoy  even  them  in  peace.  This  thing  is  done  to  a 
turn — how  charmingly  the  blood  follows  the  knife  !  They 
have  gone  so  far  as  to  equip  privateers,  who  cut  off  our  neces- 
saries ;  and  he  is  a  lucky  man  who  can  get  a  meal  like  the  one 
before  us." 

"  I  had  not  thought  the  power  of  the  Americans  could  have 
forced  matters  to  such  a  pass." 

"  What  I  have  mentioned,  though  of  vital  importance,  is  not 
half.  If  a  man  is  happy  enough  to  obtain  the  materials  for  a 
good  dish — you  should  have  rubbed  an  onion  over  these  plates, 
Mr.  Meriton — he  don't  know  where  he  is  to  find  fuel  to  cook  it 
withal." 

"  Looking  at  the  comforts  with  which  I  am  surrounded,  my 
good  friend,  I  cannot  but  fancy  your  imagination  heightens  the 
distress." 

"  Fancy  no  such  silly  thing ;  for  when  you  get  abroad,  you 
will  find  it  but  too  exact.  In  the  article  of  food,  if  we  are  not 
reduced,  like  the  men  of  Jerusalem,  to  eating  one  another,  we 
are,  half  the  time,  rather  worse  ofi",  being  entirely  destitute  of 
wholesome  nutriment.  Let  but  an  unlucky  log  float  by  the 
town  among  the  ice,  and  go  forth  and  witness  the  struggling 


LIONEL  LINCOLN". 


251 


and  skirmishing  between  the  Yankees  and  our  frozen  fingers  for 
its  possession,  and  you  will  become  a  believer  1  'Twill  be  lucky 
if  the  water-soaked  relic  of  some  wharf  should  escape  without 
a  cannonade  !  I  don't  tell  you  these  things  as  a  grumbler,  Leo ; 
for,  thank  God,  I  have  only  half  as  many  toes  as  other  men,  to 
keep  warmth  in  ;  and  as  for  eating,  a  little  will  suffice  for  me, 
now  my  corporeal  estabhshment  is  so  sadly  reduced." 

Lionel  paused  in  melancholy,  as  his  friend  attempted  to  jest 
at  his  misfortune,  and  then,  by  a  very  natural  transition,  for  a 
young  man  in  his  situation,  he  proudly  exclaimed — 

"  But  we  gained  the  day,  Polwarth  1  and  drove  the  rebels 
from  their  intrenchments,  like  chaff  before  a  whirlwind  1" 

"  Humph  !"  ejaculated  the  captain,  laying  his  wooden  leg 
carefully  over  its  more  valuable  fellow,  and  regarding  it  rue- 
fully, while  he  spoke — "  had  we  made  a  suitable  use  of  the 
bounties  of  nature,  and  turned  their  position,  instead  of  running 
into  the  jaws  of  the  beast,  many  might  have  left  the  field  better 
supplied  with  appurtenances  than  are  some  among  us  at  present. 
But  dark  William  loves  a  brush,  they  say,  and  he  enjoyed  it,  on 
that  occasion,  to  his  heart's  content !" 

"  He  must  be  grateful  to  Clinton  for  his  timely  presence !" 

"  Does  the  devil  delight  in  martyrdom  ?  The  presence  of  a 
thousand  rebels  would  have  been  more  welcome,  even  at  that 
moment ;  nor  has  he  smiled  once  on  his  good-natured  assistant, 
since  he  thrust  himself,  in  that  unwelcome  manner,  between  him 
and  his  enemy.  We  had  enough  to  think  of,  with  our  dead 
and  wounded,  and  in  maintaining  our  conquest,  or  something 
more  than  black  looks  and  unkind  eyes  would  have  followed  the 
deed." 

"  I  fear  to  inquire  into  the  fortunes  of  the  field,  so  many  names 
of  worth  must  be  numbered  in  the  loss." 

"  Twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  men  are  not  to  be  knocked  on 
the  head  out  of  such  an  army,  and  all  the  clever  fellows  escape. 
Gage,  I  know,  calls  the  loss  something  like  eleven  hundred ; 
but,  after  vaporing  so  much  about  the  Yankees,  their  prowess  is 


252 


LIONEL  LIKCOLK. 


not  to  be  acknowledged  in  its  bloom  at  once.  A  man  seldom 
goes  on  one  leg,  but  he  halts  a  little  at  first,  as  I  cfiii  say  from 
exjDerience — put  down  thirteen,  Leo,  as  a  medium,  and  you'll 
not  miscalculate  largely :  yes,  indeed,  there  were  some  brave 
young  men  amongst  them  !  Those  rascally  light-footed  gentry, 
that  I  gave  up  so  opportunely,  were  finely  peppered — and  there 
were  the  Fusileers  had  hardly  men  enough  left  to  saddle  their 

goat  r'^^* 

"  And  the  marines  !  they  must  have  suffered  heavily ;  I  saw 
ritcairn  fall  before  me,"  said  Lionel,  speaking  with  hesitation  : 
"  I  greatly  fear  our  old  comrade,  the  grenadier,  did  not  escape 
with  better  fortune." 

"  Mac  !"  exclaimed  Polwarth,  casting  a  furtive  glance  at  his 
companion.  "  Ay,  Mac  was  not  as  lucky  in  that  business  as  he 
w^as  in  Germany — he-em — Mac — had  an  obstinate  w^ay  with 
him,  Leo ;  a  damn'd  obstinate  fellow  in  all  military  matters ; 
but  as  generous  a  heart,  and  as  free  in  sharing  a  mess-bill  as 
any  man  in  his  majesty's  service  !  I  crossed  the  river  in  the 
same  boat  with  him,  and  he  entertained  us  with  his  queer 
thoughts  on  the  art  of  war.  According  to  Mac's  notions  of 
things,  the  grenadiers  were  to  do  all  the  fighting — a  damn'd  odd 
way  with  him  had  Mac !" 

"  There  are  few  of  us  without  peculiarities,  and  I  could  wish 
that  none  of  them  were  more  offensive  than  the  trifling  preju- 
dices of  poor  Dennis  M'Fuse." 

"  Yes,  yes,"  added  Polwarth,  hemming  violently,  as  if  deter- 
mined to  clear  his  throat  at  every  hazard  ;  "  he  was  a  little 
opinionated  in  trifles,  such  as  a  knowledge  of  war,  and  matters 
of  discipline ;  but  in  all  important  things  as  tractable  as  a  child. 
He  loved  his  joke,  but  it  was  impossible  to  have  a  less  difiicult 
or  more  unpretendmg  palate  in  one's  mess  !  The  greatest  evil 
I  can  wish  him  is  breath  in  his  body,  to  live  and  enjoy,  in  these 

*  This  regiment,  in  consequence  of  some  tradition,  kept  a  goat,  with  gilded  horns, 
as  a  memorial.  Once  a  year  it  celebrated  a  festival,  iii  which  the  bearded  quadruped 
acted  a  conspicuous  part.  In  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  corps  was  distinguished 
alike  for  its  courage  and  its  losses. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


253 


hard  times,  when  things  become  excellent  by  compHrison,  the 
sagacious  provision  which  his  own  ingenuity  contrived  to  se- 
cure out  of  the  cupidity  of  our  ancient  landlord,  Mister  Seth 
Sage." 

"Then  that  notable  scheme  did  not  entirely  fall  to  the  ground," 
said  Lionel,  with  a  feverish  desire  to  change  the  subject  once 
more.  "  I  had  thought  the  Americans  were  too  vigilant  to  ad- 
mit the  intercourse." 

"  Seth  has  been  too  sagacious  to  permit  them  to  obstruct  it. 
The  prices  acted  like  a  soporific  on  his  conscience,  and  by  using 
your  name,  I  believe,  he  has  formed  some  friend  of  sufficient 
importance  amongst  the  rebels  to  protect  him  in  his  trade.  His 
supplies  make  their  appearance  twice  a  week  as  regularly  as  the 
meats  follow  the  soups  in  a  well-ordered  banquet." 

"  You  then  can  communicate  with  the  country,  and  the  coun- 
try with  the  town !  Although  Washington  may  wink  at  the 
proceeding,  I  should  fear  the  scowl  of  Howe." 

"  Why,  in  order  to  prevent  suspicions  of  unfair  practices,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  serve  the  cause  of  humanity,  so  the  ex- 
planation reads,  you  know,  our  sapient  host  has  seen  fit  to  em- 
ploy a  fool  as  his  agent  in  the  intercourse — a  fellow,  as  you  may 
remember,  of  some  notoriety ;  a  certain  simpleton,  who  calls 
himself  Job  Pray." 

Lionel  continued  silent  for  many  moments,  during  which  time 
his  recollections  began  to  revive,  and  his  thoughts  glanced  over 
the  scenes  that  occurred  in  the  first  months  of  his  residence  in 
Boston.  It  is  quite  possible  that  a  painful,  though  still  general 
and  indefinite  feeling  mingled  with  his  musings ;  for  he  evidently 
strove  to  expel  some  such  unwelcome  intruder,  as  he  resumed 
the  discourse  with  a  strong  appearance  of  forced  gayety. 

"  Ay,  ay,  I  well  remember  poor  Job — a  fellow  once  seen  and 
known,  not  easily  to  be  forgotten.  He  used,  of  old,  to  attach 
himself  greatly  to  my  person,  but  I  suppose,  like  the  rest  of  the  • 
world,  I  am  neglected  when  in  retirement." 

"  You  do  the  lad  injustice ;  he  not  only  makes  frequent  in- 


254 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


quirieSj  after  his  slovenly  manner  I  acknowledge,  concerning 
your  condition,  but  sometimes  he  seems  better  informed  in  the 
matter  than  myself,  and  can  requite  my  frequent  answers  to 
his  questions,  by  imparting,  instead  of  receiving,  intelligence  of 
your  improvement ;  more  especially  since  the  ball  has  been 
extracted." 

"  That  should  be  very  singular,  too,''  said  Lionel,  with  a  still 
more  thoughtful  brow. 

"  'Not  so  very  remarkable,  Leo,  as  one  would  at  first  imagine," 
interrupted  his  companion  :  "  the  lad  is  not  wanting  in  sagacity, 
as  he  manifested  by  his  choice  of  dishes  at  our  old  mess-table. 
Ah  !  Leo,  Leo,  we  may  see  many  a  discriminating  palate,  but 
where  shall  we  go  to  find  another  such  a  friend  ! — one  who 
could  eat  and  joke — drink  and  quarrel  with  a  man,  in  a  breath, 
like  poor  Dennis,  who  is  gone  from  among  us  forever  !  There 
was  a  piquancy  about  poor  Mac,  that  acted  on  the  dulness  of 
life  like  condiments  on  the  natural  appetite 

Meriton,  who  was  diligently  brushing  his  master's  coat — an 
ofiice  that  he  performed  daily,  though  the  garment  had  not  been 
worn  in  so  long  a  period — stole  a  glance  at  the  averted  eye  of 
the  major,  and  understanding  its  expression  to  indicate  a  deter- 
mined silence,  he  ventured  to  maintain  the  discourse  in  his  own 
unworthy  person. 

"  Yes,  sir,  a  nice  gentleman  was  Captain  M'Fuse,  and  one  as 
fought  as  stoutly  for  the  king  as  any  gentleman  in  the  army,  all 
agrees.  It  was  a  thousand  pities  such  a  fine  figure  of  a  man 
hadn't  a  better  idea  of  dress  :  it  isn't  all,  sir,  as  is  gifted  in  that 
way.  But  everybody  says  he's  a  detrimental  loss,  though 
there's  some  officers  in  town  who  consider  so  little  how  to  wear 
their  ornaments,  that  if  they  were  to  be  shot,  I  am  sure  no  one 
would  miss  them." 

"  Ah  !  Meriton,"  cried  the  full-hearted  Polwarth,  "  I  see  you 
we  a  youth  of  more  observation  than  I  had  suspected.  Mao 
had  all  the  seeds  of  a  man  in  him,  though  some  of  them  might 
not  have  come  to  maturity.    There  was  a  flavor  in  his  humor, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


255 


that  served  as  a  relish  to  every  conversation  in  which  he  min- 
gled. Did  you  serve  the  poor  fellow  up  in  handsome  style, 
Meriton,  for  his  last  worldly  exhibition  ?" 

"  Yes,  indeed,  sir :  we  gave  him  as  ornamental  a  funeral  as 
can  be  seen  out  of  Lon'non.  Besides  the  Eoyal  Irish,  all  the 
grenadiers  was  out ;  that  is,  all  as  wasn't  hurt,  which  was  near 
half  of  them.  As  I  knowed  the  regard  Master  Lionel  had  for 
the  captain,  I  dressed  him  with  my  own  hands  :  I  trimmed  his 
whiskers,  sir,  and  altered  his  hair  more  in  front ;  and  seeing 
that  his  honor  was  getting  a  little  gray,  I  threw  on  a  sprinkling 
of  powder,  and  as  handsome  a  corpse  was  Captain  M'Fuse 
as  any  gentleman  in  the  army,  let  the  other  be  who  he 
may !" 

The  eyes  of  Pol  war  th  twinkled,  and  he  blew  his  nose  with  a 
noise  not  unlike  the  sound  of  a  clarion,  ere  he  rejoined — 

"  Yes,  yes,  time  and  hardships  had  given  a  touch  of  frost  to 
the  head  of  the  poor  fellow ;  but  it  is  a  consolation  to  know 
that  he  died  like  a  soldier,  and  not  by  the  hands  of  that  vulgar 
butcher,  JSTature ;  and  that,  being  dead,  he  was  removed  accord- 
ing to  his  deserts !" 

"  Indeed,  sir,"  said  Meriton,  with  a  solemnity  worthy  of  the 
occasion,  "  we  gave  him  a  great  procession  :  a  great  deal  can 
be  made  out  of  his  majesty's  uniform,  on  such  festivities,  and  it 
had  a  wonderful  look  about  it !    Did  you  speak,  sir 

"  Yes,"  added  Lionel,  impatiently  :  "  remove  the  cloth ;  and 
go,  inquire  if  there  be  letters  for  me." 

The  valet  submissively  obeyed,  and  after  a  short  pause  the 
dialogue  was  resumed  by  the  gentlemen  on  subjects  of  a  less 
painful  nature. 

As  Polwarth  was  exceedingly  communicative,  Lionel  soon 
obtained  a  very  general,  and,  to  do  the  captain  suitable  justice, 
an  extremely  impartial  account  of  the  situation  of  the  hostile 
forces,  as  well  as  of  all  the  leading  events  that  had  transpired 
since  the  day  of  Breed's.  Once  or  twice  the  invalid  ventured 
an  allusion  to  the  spirit  of  the  rebels,  and  to  the  unexpected 


25G 


LIONEL  1.INC0LN. 


energy  they  had  discovered  ;  but  Polwarth  heard  them  all  in 
silence,  answering  only  by  a  melancholy  smile,  and,  in  the  last 
instance,  by  a  significant  gesture  towards  his  unnatural  sup- 
porter. Of  course,  after  this  touching  acknowledgment  of  his 
former  error,  his  friend  waved  the  subject  for  others  less  personal. 

He  learned  that  the  royal  general  maintained  his  hardly- 
earned  conquest  on  the  opposite  peninsula,  where  he  was  as  ef- 
fectually beleaguered,  however,  as  in  the  town  of  Boston  itself. 
In  the  mean  time,  while  the  war  was  conducted  in  earnest  at 
the  point  where  it  commenced,  hostilities  had  broken  out  in 
every  one  of  those  colonies,  south  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
Great  Lakes,  where  the  presence  of  the  royal  troops  invited  an 
appeal  to  force.  At  first,  while  the  colonists  acted  under  the 
impulses  of  the  high  enthusiasm  of  a  sudden  rising,  they  had 
been  everywhere  successful.  A  general  army  had  been  organ- 
ized, as  already  related,  and  divisions  were  employed  at  differ- 
ent points  to  effect  those  conquests  which,  in  that  early  state  of 
the  struggle,  were  thought  to  be  important  to  the  main  result. 
But  the  effects  of  their  imperfect  means  and  divided  power  were 
already  becoming  visible.  After  a  series  of  minor  victories, 
Montgomery  had  fallen  in  a  most  desperate  and  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  carry  the  impregnable  fortress  of  Quebec  ;  and,  ceas- 
ing to  be  the  assailants,  the  Americans  were  gradually  compelled 
to  collect  their  resources  to  meet  that  mighty  effort  of  the  crown, 
which  was  known  to  be  not  far  distant.  As  thousands  of  their 
fellow-subjects  in  the  mother  country  manifested  a  strong  repug- 
nance to  the  war,  the  ministry  so  far  submitted  to  the  influence 
of  that  free  spirit,  which  first  took  deep  root  in  Britain,  as  to 
turn  their  eyes  to  those  States  of  Europe,  who  made  a  trade  in 
human  life,  in  quest  of  mercenaries  to  quell  the  temper  of  the 
colonists.  In  consequence,  the  fears  of  the  timid  amongst  the 
Americans  were  excited  by  rumors  of  the  vast  hordes  of  Kus- 
Bians  and  Germans,  who  were  to  be  poured  into  their  country, 
with  the  fell  intent  to  make  them  slaves.  Perhaps  no  step  of 
their  enemies  had  a  greater  tendency  to  render  them  odious  in 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


25Y 


tlie  eyes  of  the  Americans,  than  this  measure  of  introducing 
foreigners  to  decide  a  quarrel  purely  domestic.  So  long  as  none 
but  men  who  had  been  educated  in  those  acknowledged  princi- 
ples of  justice  and  law,  known  to  both  people,  were  admitted  to 
the  contest,  there  were  visible  points,  common  to  each,  which 
might  render  the  struggle  less  jBerce,  and  in  time  lead  to  a  per- 
manent reconciliation.  But  they  reasoned  not  inaptly,  when 
they  asserted,  that  in  a  contest  rendered  triumphant  by  slaves, 
nothing  but  abject  submission  could  ensue  to  the  conquered. 
It  was  like  throwing  away  the  scabbard,  and,  by  abandoning  rea- 
son, submitting  the  result  to  the  sword  alone.  In  addition  to 
the  estrangement  these  measures  were  gradually  increasing  be- 
tween the  people  of  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies,  must 
be  added  the  change  it  produced  amongst  the  latter  in  their 
habits  of  regarding  the  person  of  their  prince. 

During  the  whole  of  the  angry  discussion,  and  the  recrimina- 
tions, which  preceded  the  drawing  of  blood,  the  colonists  had 
admitted,  to  the  fullest  extent,  not  only  in  their  language,  but 
in  their  feelings,  that  fiction  of  the  British  law,  which  says  "  the 
king  can  do  no  wrong."  Throughout  the  wide  extent  of  an 
empire,  on  which  the  sun  was  never  known  to  set,  the  English 
monarch  could  boast-  of  no  subjects  more  devoted  to  his  family 
and  person,  than  the  men  who  now  stood  in  arms  against  what 
they  honestly  believed  to  be  the  unconstitutional  encroachments 
of  his  power.  Hitherto  the  whole  weight  of  their  igesentment 
had  justly  fallen  on  the  advisers  of  the  prince,  who  himself  was 
thought  to  be  ignorant,  as  he  was  probably  innocent,  of  the 
abuses  so  generally  practised  in  his  name.  But  as  the  contest 
thickened,  the  natural  feelings  of  the  man  were  thought  to  savor 
of  the  political  acts  he  was  required  to  sanction  with  his  name. 
It  was  soon  whispered,  amongst  those  who  had  the  best  means 
of  intelligence,  that  the  feelings  of  the  sovereign  were  deeply 
interested  in  the  maintenance  of  what  he  deemed  his  preroga- 
tive, and  the  ascendency  of  that  body  of  the  representatives  of 
his  empire,  which  he  met  in  person  and  influenced  by  his  pres- 


258 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Dnce.  Ere  long  this  opinion  was  rumored  abroad,  and  as  tlie 
minds  of  men  began  to  loosen  from  their  ancient  attachments 
and  prejudices,  they  confounded,  by  a  very  natural  feeling,  the 
head  with  the  members;  forgetting  that  ''Liberty  and  Equality" 
formed  no  part  of  the  trade  of  princes.  The  name  of  the  mon- 
arch was  daily  falling  into  disrepute ;  and  as  the  colonial  writers 
ventured  to  allude  more  freely  to  his  person  and  power,  the  glim- 
merings of  that  light  were  seen,  which  was  a  precursor  of  the 
rise  of  "  the  stars  of  the  West "  amongst  the  national  symbols 
of  the  earth.  Until  then,  few  had  thought,  and  none  had  ven- 
tured to  speak  openly,  of  independence,  though  events  had 
been  silently  preparing  the  colonists  for  such  a  final  measure. 

Allegiance  to  the  prince  was  the  last  and  only  tie  to  be 
severed;  for  the  colonies  already  governed  themselves  in  all 
matters,  whether  of  internal  or  foreign  policy,  as  effectually  as 
any  people  could,  whose  right  to  do  so  was  not  generally  ac- 
knowledged. But  as  the  honest  nature  of  George  III.  admit- 
ted of  no  disguise,  mutual  disgust  and  alienation  were  the 
natural  consequences  of  the  reaction  of  sentiment  between  the 
prince  and  his  western  people.'^ 

All  this,  and  much  more  of  minute  detail,  was  hastily  com- 
mented on  by  Polwarth,  who  possessed,  in  the  midst  of  his 
epicurean  propensities,  sterling  good  sense,  and  great  integrity 
of  intention.  Lionel  was  chiefly  a  hstener,  nor  did  he  cease 
the  greedy  and  interesting  employment  until  warned  by  his 
weakness,  and  the  stroke  of  a  neighboring  clock,  that  he  was 
trespassing  too  far  on  prudence.  His  friend  then  assisted  the 
exhausted  invalid  to  his  bed ;  and  after  giving  him  a  world  of 
good  advice,  together  with  a  warm  pressure  of  the  hand,  he 
stumped  his  way  out  of  the  room,  with  a  noise  that  brought,  at 
every  tread,  an  echo  from  the  heart  of  Major  Lincoln. 

♦  The  prejudices  of  the  king  of  England  were  uuaroidable  in  his  insulated  situ- 
!ition,  but  his  virtues  and  integrity  were  exclusively  the  property  of  the  man.  Hia 
speech  to  our  first  minister  after  the  peace  cannot  be  too  often  recorded :  "  I  was 
the  last  man  in  my  kingdom  to  acknowled^  your  independence,  and  I  shall  be  the 
lajst  to  violate  iV 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


259 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

**  God  never  meant  that  man  should  scale  the  heaveis 
By  strides  of  human  wisdom." 

COWPEE. 

A  VERY  few  days  of  gentle  exercise  in  tlie  bracing  air  of  the 
season,  were  sufficient  to  restore  tlie  strength  of  the  invalid, 
whose  wounds  had  healed  while  he  lay  slumbering  under  the 
influence  of  the  anodynes  prescribed  by  his  leech.  Polwarth, 
in  consideration  of  the  dilapidated  state  of  his  own  limbs,  to- 
gether with  the  debility  of  Lionel,  had  so  far  braved  the  ridicule 
of  the  army,  as  to  set  up  one  of  those  comfortable  and  easy 
conveyances,  which,  in  the  good  old  times  of  colonial  humility, 
were  known  by  the  quaint  and  unpretending  title  of  tom-pungs. 
To  equip  this  establishment,  he  had  been  compelled  to  impress 
one  of  the  fine  hunters  of  his  friend.  The  animal  had  been 
taught,  by  virtue  of  much  training  from  his  groom,  aided  a 
little,  perhaps,  by  the  low  state  of  the  garners  of  the  place,  to 
amble  through  the  snow  as  quietly  as  if  he  were  conscious  of  the 
altered  condition  of  his  master's  health.  In  this  safe  vehicle 
the  two  gentlemen  might  be  seen  daily,  gliding  along  the  upper 
streets  of  the  town,  and  moving  through  the  winding  paths  of 
the  common,  receiving  the  congratulations  of  their  friends ;  or, 
in  their  turn,  visiting  others,  who,  like  themselves,  had  been 
wounded  in  the  murderous  battle  of  the  preceding  summer,  but 
who,  less  fortunate  than  they,  were  still  compelled  to  submit  to. 
the  lingering  confinement  of  their  quarters. 

It  was  not  difficult  to  persuade  Cecil  and  Agnes  to  join  in 


260 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


many  of  their  short  excursions,  though  no  temptation  could 
induce  the  latter  to  still  the  frown  that  habitually  settled  on  her 
beautiful  brow,  whenever  chance  or  intention  brouo-ht  them  in 
contact  with  any  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  army.  Miss  Dynevor 
was,  however,  much  more  conciliating  in  her  deportment,  and 
even,  at  times^  so  gracious  as  to  incur  the  private  reproaches  of 
her  friend. 

"  Surely,  Cecil,  you  forget  how  much  our  poor  countrymen 
are  suffering  in  their  miserable  lodgings  without  the  town,  or 
you  would  be  less  prodigal  of  your  condescension  to  these  but- 
terflies of  the  army,"  cried  Agnes,  pettishly,  while  they  were 
uncloaking  after  one  of  these  rides,  during  which  the  latter 
thought  her  cousin  had  lost  sight  of  that  tacit  compact,  by 
which  most  of  the  women  of  the  colonies  deemed  themselves 
bound  to  exhibit  their  feminine  resentments  to  their  invaders. 
"  Were  a  chief  from  our  own  army  presented  to  you,  he  could 
not  have  been  received  in  a  sweeter  manner  than  you  bestowed 
your  smile  to-day  on  that  Sir  Digby  Dent !" 

"  I  can  say  nothing  in  favor  of  its  sweetness,  my  acid  cousin, 
but  that  Sir  Digby  Dent  is  a  gentleman — " 

"  A  gentleman  ! — yes — so  is  every  Englishman  who  wears  a 
scarlet  coat,  and  knows  how  to  play  off  his  airs  in  the  colo- 
nies !" 

"  And  as  I  hope  I  have  some  claims  to  be  called  a  lady," 
continued  Cecil,  quietly,  "  I  do  not  know  why,  in  the  little  in- 
tercourse we  have,  I  should  be  rude  to  him." 

"  Cecil  Dynevor !"  exclaimed  Agnes,  with  a  sparkling  eye, 
and  with  a  woman's  intuitive  perception  of  the  other's  motives, 
all  Englishmen  are  not  Lionel  Lincolns." 

"  Nor  is  Major  Lincoln  an  Englishman,"  returned  Cecil,  laugh- 
ing, while  she  blushed;  "  though  I  have  reason  to  think  that 
Captain  Polwarth  may  be." 

"  Silly,  child,  silly ;  the  poor  man  has  paid  the  penalty  of  his 
offence,  and  is  to  be  regarded  with  pity." 

"  Have  a  care,  my  coz.    Pity  is  one  of  a  large  connection  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


261 


gentle  feelings ;  when  you  once  admit  the  first-born,  you  may 
leave  open  your  doors  to  the  whole  family." 

"  Now  that  is  exactly  the  point  in  question,  Cecil — because 
you  esteem  Major  Lincoln,  you  are  willing  to  admire  Howe  and 
all  his  myrmidons ;  but  I  can  pity,  and  still  be  firm." 

"  Le  hon  temps  viendra  P'' 

"  Never,"  interrupted  Agnes,  with  a  warmth  that  prevented 
her  perceiving  how  much  she  admitted  ;  "  never,  at  least  under 
the  guise  of  a  scarlet  coat." 

Cecil  smiled,  but  having  completed  her  toilet,  she  withdrew 
without  making  any  reply. 

Such  little  discussions,  enlivened  more  or  less  by  the  peculiar 
spirit  of  Agnes,  were  of  frequent  occurrence,  though  the  eyt.  of 
her  cousin  became  daily  more  thoughtful,  and  the  indifference 
with  which  she  listened  was  more  apparent  in  each  succeeding 
dialogue. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  affairs  of  the  siege,  though  conducted 
with  extreme  caution,  amounted  only  to  a  vigilant  blockade. 

The  Americans  lay  by  thousands  in  the  surrounding  villages, 
or  were  hutted  in  strong  bands  nigh  the  batteries  which  com- 
manded the  approaches  to  the  place.  Notwithstanding  their 
means  had  been  greatly  increased  by  the  capture  of  several 
vessels,  loaded  with  warlike  stores,  as  well  as  by  the  reduction 
of  two  important  fortresses  towards  the  Canadian  frontiers,  they 
were  still  too  scanty  to  admit  of  that  wasteful  expenditure,  which 
is  the  usual  accompaniment  of  war.  In  addition  to  their  ne- 
cessities, as  a  reason  for  forbearance,  might  also  be  mentioned 
the  feelings  of  the  colonists,  who  were  anxious,  in  mercy  to 
themselves,  to  regain  their  town  with  as  little  injury  as  possible. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  impression  made  by  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  was  still  so  vivid  as  to  curb  the  enterprise  of  the  royal 
commanders,  and  Washington  had  been  permitted  to  hold  their 
powerful  forces  in  check,  by  an  untrained  and  half-armed  mul- 
titude, that  was,  at  times,  absolutely  destitute  of  the  means  of 
maintaining  even  a  momentary  conquest. 


262 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


As,  however,  a  show  of  hostilities  was  maintained,  the  reports 
of  cannon  were  frequently  heard,  and  there  were  days  when 
skirmishes  between  the  advanced  parties  of  the  two  hosts 
brought  on  more  heavy  firings,  which  continued  for  longer 
periods.  The  ears  of  the  ladies  had  been  long  accustomed  to 
these  rude  sounds,  and  as  the  trifling  loss  which  folio  ^ed  was 
altogether  confined  to  the  outworks,  they  were  listened  to  with 
but  little  or  no  terror. 

In  this  manner  a  fortnight  flew  swiftly  away,  without  an  in- 
cident to  be  related.  One  fine  morning,  at  the  end  of  that 
period,  Polwarth  drove  into  the  little  courtyard  of  Mrs.  Lech- 
mere's  residence,  with  all  those  knowing  flourishes  he  could 
command,  and  which,  in  the  year  lY'/S,  were  thought  to  indi- 
cate the  greatest  familiarity  with  the  properties  of  a  tom-pung. 
In  another  minute  his  wooden  member  was  heard  in  the  pas- 
sage, timing  his  steps,  as  he  approached  the  room  where  the 
rest  of  the  party  were  waiting  his  appearance.  The  two  cousins 
stood  wrapped  in  furs,  with  their  smiling  faces  blooming  be- 
neath double  rows  of  lace  to  soften  the  pictures,  while  Major 
Lincoln  was  in  the  act  of  taking  his  cloak  from  Meriton,  as  the 
door  opened  for  the  admission  of  the  captain. 

"  What,  already  dished  !"  exclaimed  the  good-natured  Pol- 
warth, glancing  his  eyes  from  one  to  the  other  :  "  so  much  the 
better  ;  punctuality  is  the  true  leaven  of  life — a  good  watch  is 
as  necessary  to  the  guest  as  the  host,  and  to  the  host  as  his 
cook.  Miss  Agnes,  you  are  amazingly  murderous  to-day !  If 
Howe  expects  his  subalterns  to  do  their  duty,  he  should  not 
suffer  you  to  go  at  large  in  his  camp." 

The  fine  eye  of  Miss  Danforth  sparkled  as  he  proceeded,  but 
happening  to  fall  on  his  mutilated  person,  its  expression  softened, 
and  she  was  content  with  answering  with  a  smile — 

"  Let  your  general  look  to  himself ;  I  seldom  go  abroad  but 
to  espy  his  weakness  1" 

The  captain  gave  an  expressive  shrug  of  his  shoulder,  and 
turning  aside  to  his  friend,  said  in  an  under-tone — 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


263 


You  see  how  it  is,  Major  Lincoln  ;  ever  since  I  have  been 
(X>mpelled  to  serve  myself  up,  like  a  turkey  from  yesterday's 
dinner,  with  a  single  leg,  I  have  not  been  able  to  get  a  sharp 
reply  from  the  young  woman — she  has  grown  an  even-tempered, 
tasteless  morsel ;  and  I  am  like  a  two-pronged  fork — only  fit  for 
carving  :  well,  I  care  not  how  soon  they  cut  me  up  entirely,  since 
she  has  lost  hei  piquancy — but  shall  we  to  the  church  ?" 

Lionel  looked  a  little  embarrassed,  and  fingered  a  paper  he 
held  in  his  hand,  for  a  moment,  before  he  handed  it  to  the  other 
for  his  perusal. 

"  What  have  we  here  ?"  continued  Polwarth  :  " '  Two  ofii- 
cers,  wounded  in  the  late  battle,  desire  to  return  thanks  for 
their  recovery' — hum — hum — hum — two  ? — yourself,  and  who 
is  the  other  ?" 

"  I  had  hoped  it  would  be  my  old  companion  and  school- 
fellow?" 

"  Ha  !  what,  me  !"  exclaimed  the  captain,  unconsciously  ele- 
vating his  wooden  leg,  and  examining  it  with  a  rueful  eye ; 
"umph !  Leo,  do  you  think  a  man  has  a  particular  reason  to  be 
grateful  for  the  loss  of  a  leg  ?" 

"  It  might  have  been  worse." 

"  I  don't  know,"  interrupted  Polwarth,  a  little  obstinately ; 
"  there  would  have  been  more  symmetry  in  it,  if  it  had  been 
both." 

"  You  forget  your  mother,"  continued  Lionel,  as  though  the 
other  had  not  spoken  ;  "  I  am  very  sure  it  will  give  her  heart- 
felt pleasure." 

Polwarth  gave  a  loud  hem,  rubbed  his  hand  over  his  face 
once  or  twice,  gave  another  furtive  glance  at  his  solitary  limb, 
and  then  answered  with  a  little  tremor  in  his  voice — 

"  Yes,  yes — I  believe  you  are  quite  right — a  mother  can  love 
her  child,  though  he  should  be  chopped  into  mincemeat !  The 
sex  get  that  generous  feeling  after  they  are  turned  of  forty — it's 
your  young  woman  that  is  particular  about  proportions  and 
correspondents." 


264 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  You  consent,  then,  that  Meriton  shall  hand  in  the  request, 
as  it  reads  ?" 

Pohvarth  hesitated  a  single  instant  longer,  and  then,  as  he 
remembered  his  distant  mother  (for  Lionel  had  touched  the 
right  chord),  his  heart  melted  within  him. 

"  Certainly,  certainly — it  might  have  been  worse,  as  it  was 
with  poor  Dennis — ay,  let  it  pass  for  two ;  it  shall  go  hard,  but 
I  find  a  knee  to  bend  on  the  occasion.  Perhaps,  Leo,  when  a 
certain  young  lady  sees  I  can  have  a  *Te  Deum'  for  my  ad- 
venture, she  may  cease  to  think  me  such  an  object  of  pity  as  at 
present.'' 

Lionel  bov/ed  in  silence,  and  the  captain,  turning  to  Agnes, 
conducted  her  to  the  sleigh  with  a  particularly  lofty  air,  that  he 
intended  should  indicate  his  perfect  superiority  to  the  casualties 
of  war.  Cecil  took  the  arm  of  Major  Lincoln,  and  the  whole 
party  were  soon  seated  in  the  vehicle  that  was  in  waiting. 

Until  this  day,  which  was  the  second  Sunday  since  his  reap- 
pearance, and  the  first  on  which  the  weather  permitted  him  to 
go  abroad,  Lionel  had  no  opportunity  to  observe  the  altered 
population  of  the  town.  The  inhabitants  had  gradually  left  the 
place,  some  clandestinely,  and  others  under  favor  of  passes  from 
the  royal  general,  until  those  who  remained  were  actually  out- 
numbered by  the  army  and  its  dependants.  As  the  party  ap- 
proached the  "King's  Chapel,"  the  street  was  crowded  by 
military  men,  collected  in  groups,  who  indulged  in  thoughtless 
merriment,  reckless  of  the  wounds  their  light  conversation  in- 
flicted on  the  few  townsmen,  who  might  be  seen  moving  to- 
wards the  church,  with  deportments  suited  to  the  solemnity 
of  their  purposes,  and  countenances  severely  chastened  by  a  re- 
membrance of  the  day,  and  its  serious  duties.  Indeed,  so  com- 
pletely had  Boston  lost  that  distinctive  appearance  of  sobriety, 
which  had  ever  been  the  care  and  pride  of  its  people,  in  the 
levity  of  a  garrison,  that  even  the  immediate  precincts  of  the 
temple  were  not  protected  from  the  passing  jest  or  rude  mirth 
of  the  gay  and  unreflecting,  at  an  hour  when  quiet  was  wont 


LIOJ^EL  LINCOLN. 


265 


to  settle  on  tlie  whole  province,  as  deep  as  if  Nature  had  ceased 
her  ordinary  functions  to  unite  in  the  worship  of  man.  Lionel 
observed  the  change  with  mortification ;  nor  did  it  escape  his 
uneasy  glances,  that  his  two  female  companions  concealed  their 
faces  in  their  mutfs,  as  if  to  exclude  a  view  that  brought  still 
more  painful  recollections  to  munds  early  trained  in  the  reflecting 
habits  of  the  country. 

When  the  sleigh  drew  up  before  the  edifice,  a  dozen  hands 
were  extended  to  assist  the  ladies  in  their  short  but  difiicult 
passage  into  the  heavy  portico.  Agnes  coldly  bowed  her  ac- 
knowledgments, observing,  with  an  extremely  equivocal  smile, 
to  one  of  the  most  assiduous  of  the  young  men — 

"  We,  who  are  accustomed  to  the  climate,  find  no  difficulty 
in  walking  on  ice,  though  to  you  foreigners  it  may  seem  so 
hazardous."  She  then  bowed,  and  walked  gravely  into  the 
bosom  of  the  church,  without  deigning  to  bestow  another  glance 
to  her  right  hand  or  her  left. 

The  manner  of  Cecil,  thouo'h  more  chastened  and  feminine, 
and  consequently  more  impressive,  was  equally  reserved.  Like 
her  cousin,  she  proceeded  directly  to  her  pew,  repulsing  the 
attempts  of  those  who  wished  to  detain  her  a  moment  in  idle 
discourse,  by  a  lady-like  propriety  that  checked  the  advance  of 
all  who  approached  her.  In  consequence  of  the  rapid  move- 
ment of  their  companions,  Lionel  and  Polwarth  were  left  among 
the  crowd  of  officers  who  thronged  the  entrance  of  the  church. 
The  former  moved  up  within  the  colonnade,  and  passed  from 
group  to  group,  answering  and  making  the  customary  inquiries 
of  men  engaged  in  the  business  of  war.  Here,  three  or  four 
veterans  were  clustered  about  one  of  those  heavy  columns,  that 
were  arranged  in  formidable  show  on  three  faces  of  the  build- 
ing, discussing,  with  becoming  gravity,  the  political  signs  of  the 
times,  or  the  military  condition  of  their  respective  corps.  There, 
three  or  four  unfledged  boys,  tricked  in  all  the  vain  emblems  of 
their  profession,  impeded  the  entrance  of  the  few  women  who 
appeared,  under  the  pretence  of  admiration  for  the  sex,  while 

12 


266 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


they  secretly  dwelt  on  the  glitter  of  their  own  ornaments.  Scat* 
tered  along  the  whole  extent  of  the  entrance  were  other  little 
knots  ;  some  listening  to  the  idle  tale  of  a  professed  jester,  some 
abusing  the  land  in  which  it  was  their  fate  to  serve,  and  others 
recounting  the  marvels  they  had  witnessed  in  distant  climes, 
and  in  scenes  of  peril  which  beggared  their  utmost  powers  of 
description. 

Among  such  a  collection  it  was  not  difficult,  however,  to  find 
a  few  whose  views  were  more  elevated,  and  whose  deportment 
might  be  termed  less  offensive,  either  to  breeding  or  principles. 
With  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  latter  class  Lionel  was  held 
for  some  time  in  discourse,  in  a  distant  part  of  the  portico.  At 
length  the  sounds  of  the  organ  were  heard  issuing  from  the 
church,  and  the  gay  parties  began  to  separate,  like  men  sud- 
denly reminded  why  they  were  collected  in  that  unusual  place. 
The  companion  of  Major  Lincoln  had  left  him,  and  he  was  him- 
self following  along  the  colonnade,  which  was  now  but  thinly 
peopled,  when  his  ear  was  saluted  by  a  low  voice,  singing  in  a 
sort  of  nasal  chant  at  his  very  elbow — 

"  Woe  unto  you,  Pharisees  I  for  ye  love  the  uppermost  seats  in 
the  synagogues,  and  greetings  in  the  market  1" 

Though  Lionel  had  not  heard  the  voice  since  the  echoing  cry 
had  issued  out  of  the  fatal  redoubt,  he  knew  its  first  tones  on  the 
instant.  Turning  at  this  singular  denunciation,  he  beheld  Job 
Pray,  erect  and  immovable  as  a  statue,  in  one  of  the  niches  in 
front  of  the  building,  whence  he  gave  forth  his  warning  voice, 
like  some  oracle  speaking  to  its  devotees. 

"  Fellow,  will  no  peril  teach  you  wisdom  ?"  demanded  Lio- 
nel;  "  how  dare  you  brave  our  resentment  so  wantonly  ?" 

But  his  questions  were  unheeded.  The  young  man,  whose 
f(3atures  looked  pale  and  emaciated,  as  if  he  had  endured  recent 
bodily  disease,  whose  eye  was  glazed  and  vacant,  and  whose 
whole  appearance  was  more  squalid  and  miserable  than  usual, 
appeared  perfectly  indifferent  to  all  around  him.  Without  even 
altering  the  riveted  gaze  of  his  unmeaning  eye,  he  continued — 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


267 


Woe  unto  you !  for  ye  neither  go  in  yourselves,  neitner  sufiei 
ye  them  that  are  entering  to  go  in  !" 
"  Art  deaf,  fool  ?"  demanded  Lionel. 

In  an  instant  the  eye  of  the  other  was  turned  on  his  interro- 
gator, and  Major  Lincoln  felt  a  thrill  pass  through  him,  when 
he  met  the  wild  gleam  of  intelligence  that  hghted  the  counte- 
nance of  the  changeling,  as  he  continued,  in  the  same  ominous 
tones — 

"  Whosoever  shall  say  to  his  brother,  Eaca,  shall  be  in  danger 
of  the  council ;  but  whosoever  shall  say,  Thou  fool,  is  in  danger 
of  hell-fire." 

For  a  moment  Lionel  stood  as  if  spell-bound  by  the  manner 
of  Job,  while  he  uttered  this  dreadful  anathema.  But  the  in- 
stant the  secret  influence  ceased,  he  tapped  the  lad  lightly  with 
his  cane,  and  bid  him  descend  from  the  niche. 

"  Job's  a  prophet,"  returned  the  other,  dishonoring  his  decla- 
ration at  the  same  time,  by  losing  the  singular  air  of  momentary 
intelligence,  in  his  usual  appearance  of  mental  imbecility — "  its 
wicked  to  strike  a  prophet.  The  Jews  stoned  the  prophets,  and 
beat  them  too." 

"  Do  then  as  I  bid  you  ;  would  you  stay  here  to  be  beaten 
by  the  soldiers  ?  Go  now,  away :  after  service  come  to  me, 
and  I  will  furnish  you  with  a  better  coat  than  the  garment 
you  wear." 

"  Did  you  never  read  the  good  book,"  said  Job,  "  where  it 
tells  how  you  mus'n't  take  heed  for  food  nor  raiment  ?  Nab 
says  when  Job  dies  he'll  go  to  heaven,  for  he  gets  nothing  to 
wear  and  but  little  to  eat.  Kings  wear  their  di'mond  crowns 
and  golden  flauntiness ;  and  kings  always  go  to  the  dark  place." 

The  lad  suddenly  ceased,  and  crouching  into  the  very  bottom 
of  his  niche,  he  began  to  play  with  his  fingers,  like  an  infant 
amused  with  the  power  of  exercising  its  own  members.  At  the 
same  moment  Lionel  turned  from  him,  attracted  by  the  rattling 
of  side-arms,  and  the  tread  of  many  feet  behind  him.  A  large 
party  of  officers,  belonging  to  the  staff  of  the  army,  had  paused 


268 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


to  listen  to  what  was  passing.  Amongst  them  Lionel  recognized, 
at  the  first  glance,  two  of  the  chieftains,  who,  a  little  in  advance 
of  their  attendants,  were  keenly  eyeing  the  singular  being  that 
was  squatted  in  the  niche.  Notwithstanding  his  surprise,  Major 
Lincoln  detected  the  scowl  that  impended  over  the  dark  brow 
of  the  commander-in-chief,  while  he  bowed  low,  in  deference  to 
his  rank. 

"  Who  is  this  fellow,  that  dare  condemn  the  mighty  of  the 
earth  to  such  sweepmg  perdition  ?"  demanded  Howe — "  his  own 
sovereign  amongst  the  number  ?" 

"  'Tis  an  unfortunate  being,  wanting  in  intellect,  with  whom 
accident  has  made  me  acquainted,"  returned  Major  Lincoln ; 
"  who  hardly  knows  what  he  utters,  and  least  of  all  in  whose 
presence  he  has  been  speaking." 

"  It  is  to  such  idle  opinions,  which  are  conceived  by  the  de- 
signing, and  circulated  by  the  ignorant,  that  we  may  ascribe  the 
wavering  allegiance  of  the  colonies,"  said  the  British  general. 
"  I  hope  you  can  answer  for  the  loyalty  of  your  singular  ac- 
quaintance. Major  Lincoln  ?" 

Lionel  was  about  to  reply,  with  some  little  spirit,  when  the 
companion  of  the  frowning  chief  suddenly  exclaimed — 

"  By  the  feats  of  the  feathered  Hermes,  but  this  is  the  iden- 
tical Merry- Andrew  who  took  the  flying  leap  from  Copp's,  of 
which  I  have  already  spoken  to  you.  Am  I  in  error,  Lincoln  ? 
Is  not  this  the  shouting  philosopher,  whose  feelings  were  so  ele- 
vated on  the  day  of  Breed's,  that  he  could  not  refrain  from  fly- 
jng,  but  who,  less  fortunate  than  Icarus,  made  his  descent  on 
terra  firma 

"  I  believe  your  memory  is  faithful,  sir,"  said  Lionel,  answer- 
ing the  smile  of  the  other  ;  "  the  lad  is  often  brought  to  trouble 
by  his  simplicity." 

Burgoyne  gave  a  gentle  impulse  to  the  arm  he  held,  as  if  he 
thought  the  wretched  being  before  them  unworthy  of  further 
consideration ;  though  secretly  with  a  view  to  prevent  an  im- 
politic exhibition  of  the  well-known  propensity  of  his  senior  to 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


269 


pusli  his  notions  of  military  ascendency  to  the  extreme.  Per- 
ceiving by  the  still  darkening  look  of  the  other  that  he  hesi- 
tated, his  ready  lieutenant  observed — 

"  Poor  fellow  !  his  treason  was  doubly  punished,  by  a  flight 
of  some  fifty  feet  down  the  declivity  of  Copp's,  and  the  mortifi- 
cation of  witnessing  the  glorious  triumph  of  his  majesty's  troops. 
To  such  a  wretch  we  may  well  afibrd  forgiveness." 

Howe  insensibly  yielded  to  the  continued  pressure  of  the 
other,  and  his  hard  features  even  relaxed  into  a  scowling  smile, 
as  he  said,  while  turning  away — 

"  Look  to  your  acquaintance.  Major  Lincoln,  or,  bad  as  his 
present  condition  seems,  he  may  make  it  worse.  Such  language 
cannot  be  tolerated  in  a  place  besieged.  That  is  the  word,  I 
beheve — the  rebels  call  their  mob  a  besieging  army,  do  they 

not  r 

"  They  do  gather  round  our  winter-quarters,  and  claim  some 
such  distinction — " 

"  It  must  be  acknowledged  they  did  well  on  Breed's  too ! 
The  shabby  rascals  fought  like  true  men." 

"  Desperately,  and  with  some  discretion,"  answered  Burgoyne ; 
"  but  it  was  their  fortune  to  meet  those  who  fought  better,  and 
\vith  greater  skill.    Shall  we  enter 

The  frown  was  now  entirely  chased  from  the  brow  of  the 
chief,  who  said  complacently — 

"  Come,  gentlemen,  we  are  tardy ;  unless  more  industrious, 
we  shall  not  be  in  season  to  pray  for  the  king,  much  less 
ourselves." 

The  whole  party  advanced  a  step,  when  a  bustle  in  the  rear 
announced  the  approach  of  another  oflScer  of  high  rank,  and 
the  second  in  command  entered  into  the  colonnade,  followed 
also  by  the  gentlemen  of  his  family.  The  instant  he  appeared, 
the  self-contented  look  vanished  from  the  features  of  Howe,  who 
returned  his  salute  with  cold  civility,  and  immediately  entered 
the  church.  The  quick-witted  Burgoyne  again  interposed,  and 
as  he  made  way  in  his  turn,  he  found  naeans  to  whisper  into  the 


210 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


ear  of  Clinton  some  well-imagined  allusion  to  tlie  events  of  that 
very  field,  wliicli  had  given  birth  to  the  heart-burnings  between 
his  brother  generals,  and  had  caused  the  feelings  of  Howe  to  be 
estranged  from  the  man  to  whose  assistance  he  owed  so  much, 
Clinton  yielded  to  the  subtle  influence  of  the  flattery,  and  fol- 
lowed his  commander  into  the  house  of  God,  with  a  bland  con- 
tentment that  he  probably  mistook  for  a  feeling  much  better 
suited  to  the  place  and  the  occasion.  As  the  whole  group  of 
spectators,  consisting  of  aids,  secretaries,  and  idlers,  without, 
immediately  imitated  the  example  of  the  generals,  Lionel  found 
himself  alone  with  the  changeling. 

From  the  moment  that  Job  discovered  the  vicinity  of  the 
English  leader,  to  that  of  his  disappearance,  the  lad  remained 
literally  immovable.  His  eye  was  fastened  on  vacancy,  his  jaw 
had  fallen  in  a  manner  to  give  a  look  of  utter  mental  alienation 
to  his  countenance ;  and,  in  short,  he  exhibited  the  degraded 
lineaments  and  figure  of  a  man,  without  his  animation  or  in- 
telligence. But  as  the  last  footsteps  of  the  retii'ing  party  be- 
came inaudible,  the  fear,  which  had  put  to  flight  the  feeble  in- 
tellects of  the  simpleton,  slowly  left  him,  and  raising  his  face,  he 
said,  in  a  low,  growling  voice — 

"  Let  him  go  out  to  Prospect ;  the  people  will  teach  him  the 
law !" 

"  Perverse  and  obstinate  simpleton  !"  cried  Lionel,  dragging 
him,  without  further  ceremony,  from  the  niche  ;  "  will  you  per- 
severe in  that  foolish  cry  until  you  are  whipped  from  regiment 
to  regiment  for  your  pains  !" 

"  You  promised  J ob  the  grannies  shouldn't  beat  him  any 
more,  and  Job  promised  to  run  your  ar'n'ds." 

"  Ay !  but  unless  you  learn  to  keep  silence,  boy,  I  shall  for- 
get my  2-)romise,  and  give  you  up  to  the  anger  of  all  the  grannies 
in  town." 

"  Well,"  said  Job,  brightening  in  his  look,  like  a  fool  in  his 
exultation,  "  they  are  half  of  them  dead,  at'  any  rate  :  Job 
heard  the  biggest  man  'among  'em  roar  like  a  ravenous  lion. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


2*71 


Hurrah  for  the  Royal  Irish,'  but  he  never  spoke  ag'in ;  though 
there  wasn't  any  better  rest  for  Job's  gun  than  a  dead  man's 
shoulder !" 

"  Wretch !"  cried  Lionel,  recoihng  from  him  in  horror,  "  are 
your  hands  then  stained  with  the  blood  of  M'Fuse 

"  Job  didn't  touch  him  with  his  hands,"  returned  the  undis- 
turbed simpleton  ;  "  for  he  died  hke  a  dog,  where  he  fell  1" 

Lionel  stood  a  moment  in  utter  confusion  of  thought;  but 
hearing  the  infaUible  evidence  of  the  near  approach  of  Polwarth 
in  his  tread,  he  said,  in  a  hurried  manner,  and  in  a  voice  half 
choked  by  his  emotions — 

"  Go,  fellow,  go  to  Mrs.  Lechmere's,  as  I  bid  you  :  tell— tell 
Meriton  to  look  to  my  fire." 

The  lad  made  a  motion  towards  obeying,  but  checking  him- 
self, he  looked  up  into  the  face  of  the  other  with  a  piteous  and 
suffering  look,  and  said — 

"  See,  Job's  numb  with  cold  !  Nab  and  Job  can't  get  wood 
now ;  the  king  keeps  men  to  fight  for  it.  Let  Job  warm  his  flesh 
a  little ;  his  body  is  cold  as  the  dead !" 

Touched  to  the  heart  by  the  request,  and  the  helpless  aspect 
of  the  lad,  Lionel  made  a  silent  signal  of  assent,  and  turned 
quickly  to  meet  his  friend.  It  was  not  necessary  for  Polwarth 
to  speak,  in  order  to  apprise  Major  Lincoln  that  he  had  over- 
heard part  of  the  dialogue  between  him  and  Job.  His  counte- 
nance and  attitude  sufficiently  betrayed  his  knowledge,  as  well 
as  the  effect  it  had  produced  on  his  feelings.  He  kept  his  eyes 
on  the  form  of  the  simpleton,  as  the  lad  shuffled  his  way 
along  the  icy  street,  with  an  expression  that  could  not  easily  be 
mistaken. 

"Did  I  not  hear  the  name  of  poor  Dennis?"  at  length  he  asked. 

"  'Twas  some  of  the  idle  boasting  of  the  fool.  But  why  are 
you  not  in  the  pew  ?" 

"  The  fellow  is  a  protege  of  yours.  Major  Lincoln  ;  but  you 
may  carry  forbearance  too  far,"  returned  Polwarth,  gravely. 
"  I  come  for  you,  at  the  request  of  a  pair  of  beautiful  blue  eyes^ 


212 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


that  have  inquired  of  each  one  that  has  entered  the  church,  this 
half  hour,  where  and  why  Major  Lincoln  has  tarried." 

Lionel  bowed  his  thanks,  and  affected  to  laugh  at  the  humor 
of  his  friend,  while  they  proceeded  together  to  the  pew  of  Mrs. 
Lechmere  without  further  delay. 

The  painful  reflections  excited  by  this  interview  with  Job, 
gradually  vanished  from  the  mind  of  Lionel,  as  he  yielded  to 
the  influence  of  the  solemn  service  of  the  church.  He  heard 
the  difficult  and  suppressed  breathings  of  the  fair  being  who 
kneeled  by  his  side,  while  the  minister  read  those  thanksgivings 
which  personally  concerned  himself,  and  no  little  of  earthly 
gratitude  mingled  with  the  loftier  aspirations  of  the  youth,  as 
he  listened.  He  caught  the  timid  glance  of  the  soft  eye  from 
behind  the  folds  of  Cecil's  veil,  as  they  rose,  and  he  took  his 
seat  as  happy  as  an  ardent  young  man  might  well  be  fancied, 
under  the  consciousness  of  possessing  the  best  affections  of  a 
female  so  youthful,  so  lovely^  and  so  pure. 

Perhaps  the  service  was  not  altogether  so  consoling  to  the 
feelings  of  Polwarth.  Aii  he  recovered  his  solitary  foot  again, 
with  some  little  difficulty,  he  cast  a  very  equivocal  glance  at 
his  dismembered  person,  hemmed  aloud,  and  finished  with  a 
rattling  of  his  wooden  leg  about  the  pew,  that  attracted  the 
eyes  of  the  whole  congregation,  as  if  he  intended  the  ears  of  all 
present  should  bear  testimony  in  whose  behalf  their  owners  had 
uttered  their  extraordinary  thanksgivings. 

The  officiating  minister  was  far  too  discreet  to  vex  the  attention 
of  his  superiors  with  any  prolix  and  unwelcome  exhibitions  of 
the  Christian's  duty.  The  impressive  delivery  of  his  text  re- 
quired one  minute.  Four  were  consumed  in  the  exordium.  The 
argument  was  ingeniously  condensed  into  ten  more ;  and  the 
peroration  of  his  essay  was  happily  concluded  in  four  minutes 
and  a  half ;  leaving  him  the  satisfaction  of  knowing,  as  he  was 
assured  by  fifty  watches,  and  twice  that  number  of  contented 
faces,  that  he  had  accomplished  his  task  by  half  a  minute  within 
the  orthodox  period. 


IIONEL  LINCOLN. 


S73 


For  this  exactitude  lie  doubtless  had  his  reward.  Among 
other  testimonials  in  his  favor,  when  Polwarth  shook  his  hand 
to  thank  him  for  his  kind  offices  in  his  own  behalf,  he  found 
room  for  a  high  compliment  to  the  discourse,  concluding  by 
assuring  the  flattered  divine,  "  that,  in  addition  to  its  other  great 
merits,  it  was  done  in  beautiful  time !" 


274 


LIONEL    LIN0  0L:N'. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

"  Away ;  let  naught  to  love  displeasing, 
My  Winifreda,  move  your  care : 
Let  naught  delay  the  heavenly  blessing, 
Nor  squeamish  pride,  nor  gloomy  fear." 

Anonymous. 

It  was  perhaps  fortunate  for  the  tranquillity  of  all  concerned, 
tliat,  during  this  period  of  their  opening  confidence,  the  person 
of  Mrs.  Lechmere  came  not  between  the  bright  image  of  purity 
and  happiness  that  Cecil  presented  in  each  lineament  and  action, 
and  the  eyes  of  her  lover.  The  singular,  and  somewhat  con- 
tradictory interests  that  lady  had  so  often  betrayed  in  the  move- 
ments of  her  young  kinsman,  were  no  longer  visible  to  awaken 
his  slumbering  suspicions.  Even  those  inexplicable  scenes,  in 
which  his  aunt  had  so  strangely  been  an  actor,  were  forgotten 
in  the  engrossing  feelings  of  the  hour ;  or,  if  remembered  at 
all,  were  only  suffered  to  dim  the  pleasing  pictures  of  his  imagi- 
nation, as  an  airy  cloud  throws  its  passing  shadows  across  some 
cheerful  and  lovely  landscape.  In  addition  to  those  very  natural 
auxiliaries,  love  and  hope,  the  cause  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  had  found 
a  very  powerful  assistant,  in  the  bosom  of  Lionel,  through  an 
accident  which  had  confined  her,  for  a  long  period,  not  only  to 
her  apartment,  but  to  her  bed. 

On  that  day,  when  the  critical  operation  was  performed  on 
the  person  of  Major  Lincoln,  his  aunt  was  known  to  have 
awaited  the  result  with  intense  anxiety.  As  soon  as  the  favor- 
able termination  was  reported  to  her,  she  hastened  towards  his 
room  with  an  unguarded  eagerness,  which,  added  to  the  gene- 
ral infirmities  of  her  years,  had  nearly  cost  the  price  of  her  life. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


275 


Her  foot  became  entangled  in  her  train,  in  ascending  the  stairs, 
but  disregarding  the  warning  cry  of  Agnes  Danforth,  with  that 
sort  of  reckless  vehemence  that  sometimes  broke  through  the 
formal  decorum  of  her  manners,  she  sustained,  in  consequence, 
a  fall  that  might  well  have  proved  fatal  to  a  much  younger 
woman.  The  injury  she  received  was  severe  and  internal ;  and 
the  inflammation,  though  not  high,  was  sufficiently  protracted 
to  arouse  the  apprehension  of  her  attendants.  The  symptoms 
were,  however,  now  abating,  and  her  recovery  no  longer  a  mat- 
ter of  question. 

As  Lionel  heard  this  from  the  lips  of  Cecil,  the  reader  will 
not  imagine  the  effect  produced  by  the  interest  his  aunt  took  in 
his  welfare  was  at  all  lessened  by  the  source  whence  he  de- 
rived his  knowledge.  Notwithstanding  Cecil  dwelt  on  such 
a  particular  evidence  of  Mrs.  Lechmere's  attachment  to  her 
nephew  with  much  earnestness,  it  had  not  escaped  Major  Lin- 
coln, that  her  name  was  but  seldom  introduced  in  their  frequent 
conversations,  and  never,  on  the  part  of  his  companion,  without 
a  guarded  delicacy  that  appeared  sensitive  in  the  extreme.  As 
their  confidence,  however,  increased  with  their  hourly  communi- 
cations, he  began  gently  to  lift  the  veil  which  female  reserve  had 
drawn  before  her  inmost  feelings,  and  to  read  a  heart  whose 
purity  and  truth  would  have  repaid  a  more  difficult  investigation. 

When  the  party  returned  from  the  church,  Cecil  and  Agnes 
immediately  hastened  to  the  apartment  of  the  invalid,  leaving 
Lionel  in  possession  of  the  little  wainscoted  parlor  by  himself ; 
Polwarth  having  proceeded  to  his  own  quarters,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  hunter.  The  young  man  passed  a  few  minutes  in 
pacing  the  room,  musing  deeply  on  the  scene  he  had  witnessed 
before  the  church  ;  now  and  then  casting  a  vacant  look  on  the 
fanciful  ornaments  of  the  walls,  among  which  the  armorial 
bearings  of  his  own  name  were  so  frequent,  and  in  such  honor- 
able situations.  At  length  he  heard  that  light  footstep  approach, 
whose  sound  had  now  become  too  well  known  to  be  mistaken, 
and  in  another  instant  he  was  joined  by  Miss  Dynevor. 


276 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Mrs.  Leclimere  "  he  said,  leading  lier  to  a  settee,  and  pla- 
cing himself  by  her  side — "  you  found  her  better,  I  trust  ?" 

"  So  well,  that  she  intends  adventuring,  this  morning,  an  in- 
terview with  your  own  formidable  self.  Indeed,  Lionel,  you 
have  every  reason  to  be  grateful  for  the  deep  interest  my  grand- 
mother takes  in  your  welfare.  Ill  as  she  has  been,  her  inquiiies 
in  your  behalf  were  ceaseless  ;  and  I  have  known  her  refuse  to 
answer  any  questions  about  her  own  critical  condition,  until  her 
physician  had  relieved  her  anxiety  concerning  yours." 

As  Cecil  spoke,  the  tears  rushed  into  her  eyes,  and  her  bloom 
deepened  with  the  strength  of  her  feelings. 

"  It  is  to  you,  then,  that  much  of  my  gratitude  is  due," 
returned  Lionel ;  "  for,  by  permitting  me  to  blend  my  lot  with 
yours,  I  find  new  value  in  her  eyes.  Have  you  acquainted  Mrs. 
Lechmere  with  the  full  extent  of  my  presumption  ?  She  knows 
of  our  engagement  ?" 

"  Could  I  do  otherwise  ?  While  your  life  was  in  peril,  I  con- 
fined the  knowledge  of  my  interest  in  your  situation  to  my  own 
breast ;  but  when  we  were  flattered  with  the  hopes  of  a  recovery, 
I  placed  your  letter  in  the  hands  of  my  natural  adviser,  and 
have  the  consolation  of  knowing,  that  she  approves  of  my — 
what  shall  I  call  it,  Lionel  ? — would  not  folly  be  the  better 
word  r 

"  Call  it  what  you  will,  so  you  do  not  disavow  it.  I  have 
hitherto  forborne  inquiring  into  the  views  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  in 
tenderness  to  her  situation ;  but  I  may  flatter  myself,  Cecil,  thai 
she  will  not  reject  me  ?" 

For  a  single  instant  the  blood  rushed  tumultuously  over  the 
fine  countenance  of  Miss  Dynevor,  sufi"using  even  her  temples 
and  forehead  with  its  healthful  bloom  ;  but,  as  she  cast  a  re- 
proachful glance  at  her  lover,  it  deserted  even  her  cheeks,  while 
she  answered  calmly,  though  with  a  slight  exhibition  of  dis- 
pleasure in  her  air — 

"  It  may  have  been  the  misfortune  of  my  grandmother  to 
view  the  head  of  her  own  family  with  too  partial  eyes ;  but,  if 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


277 


it  be  so,  her  reward  should  not  be  distrust.  The  weakness  is,  I 
dare  say,  very  natural,  though  not  less  a  weakness." 

For  the  first  time  Lionel  fully  comprehended  the  cause  of 
that  variable  manner,  with  which  Cecil  had  received  his  atten- 
tions, until  interest  in  his  person  had  stilled  her  sensitive  feel- 
ings. Without,  however,  betraying  the  least  consciousness  of 
his  intelhgence,  he  answered — 

"  Gratitude  does  not  deserve  so  forbidding  a  name  as  dis- 
trust ;  nor  will  vanity  permit  me  to  call  partiality  in  my  favor  a 
weakness." 

"  The  word  is  a  good  and  a  safe  term,  as  applied  to  poor 
human  nature,"  said  Cecil,  smiling  once  more  with  all  her  native 
sweetness,  "  and  you  may  possibly  overlook  it,  when  you  recollect 
that  our  foibles  are  sometimes  hereditary." 

"  I  pardon  your  unkind  suspicion  for  that  gentle  acknowledg- 
ment But  I  may  now,  without  hesitation,  apply  to  your  grand- 
mother for  her  consent  to  our  immediate  union  ?" 

"  You  would  not  have  your  epithalamium  sung,  when,  at  the 
next  moment,  you  may  be  required  to  listen  to  the  dirge  of 
some  friend !" 

"  The  very  reason  you  urge  against  our  marriage,  induces  me 
to  press  it,  Cecil.  As  the  season  advances,  this  play  of  war 
must  end.  Howe  will  either  break  out  of  his  bounds,  and  drive 
the  Americans  from  the  hills,  or  seek  some  other  point  for  more 
active  warfare.  In  either  case  you  would  be  left  in  a  distracted 
and  divided  country,  at  an  age  too  tender  for  your  own  safety, 
rather  the  guardian  than  the  ward  of  your  helpless  parent. 
Surely,  Cecil,  you  would  not  hesitate  to  accept  of  my  protec- 
tion at  such  a  crisis,  I  had  almost  dared  to  say,  in  tenderness  to 
yourself,  as  well  as  to  my  feelings." 

"  Say  on,"  she  answered ;  "  I  admire  your  ingenuity,  if  not 
your  argument.  In  the  first  place,  however,  I  do  not  believe 
your  general  can  drive  the  Americans  from  their  post  so  easily ; 
for,  by  a  very  simple  process  in  figures,  that  even  I  understand, 
you  may  find,  that  if  one  hill  costs  so  many  hundred  men,  that 


278 


LIONEL  /ilNCOLN. 


the  purcliase  of  the  whole  would  be  too  dear.  Naj,  Lionel,  do 
not  look  so  grave,  I  implore  you  !  Surely,  surely,  you  do  not 
think  I  would  speak  idly  of  a  battle  that  had  nearly  cost  your 
life,  and — and — my  happiness." 

"  Say  on,"  said  Lionel,  instantly  dismissing  the  momentary 
cloud  from  his  brow,  and  smiling  fondly  in  her  anxious  face  ; 
"I  admire  your  casuistry,  and  worship  your  feeling;  but  can 
also  deny  your  argument." 

Eeassured  by  his  voice  and  manner,  after  a  moment  of  ex- 
treme agitation,  she  continued,  in  the  same  playful  tones  as 
before — 

"  But  we  will  suppose  all  the  hills  won,  and  the  American 
chief,  Washington,  who,  though  nothing  but  a  rebel,  is  a  very 
respectable  one,  driven  into  the  country  with  his  army  at  his 
heels ;  I  trust  it  is  to  be  done  without  the  assistance  of  the 
women !  Or,  should  Howe  remove  his  forces,  as  you  inti- 
mate, v^^ill  he  not  leave  the  town  behind  him  ?  In  either  case, 
I  should  remain  quietly  where  I  am ;  safe  in  a  British  garrison, 
or  safer  among  my  countrymen." 

"  Cecil,  you  are  alike  ignorant  of  the  dangers  and  of  the  rude 
lawlessness  of  war.  Though  Howe  should  abandon  the  place, 
'twould  be  only  for  a  time ;  believe  me,  the  ministry  will  never 
yield  the  possession  of  a  town  like  this,  which  has  so  long  dared 
their  power,  to  men  in  arms  against  their  lawful  prince." 

"  You  have  strangely  forgotten  the  last  six  months,  Lionel,  or 
you  would  not  accuse  me  of  ignorance  of  the  misery  that  war 
can  inflict." 

"  A  thousand  thanks  for  the  kind  admission,  dearest  Cecil,  as 
well  as  for  the  hint,"  said  the  young  man,  shifting  the  ground 
of  his  argument  with  the  consistency,  as  well  as  the  readiness 
of  a  lover ;  "  you  have  owned  your  sentiments  to  me,  and  would 
not  refuse  to  avow  them  again  ?" 

"  Not  to  one  whose  self-esteem  will  induce  him  to  forget  the 
weakness  ;  but,  perhaps,  I  might  hesitate  to  do  such  a  silly  thing 
before  the  world." 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


279 


"  I  will  then  put  it  to  your  heart,"  he  continued,  without  re- 
garding the  smiling  coquetry  she  had  affected.  "  Believing  the 
best,  you  will  admit  that  another  battle  would  be  no  strange 
occurrence  ?" 

She  raised  her  anxious  looks  to  his  face,  but  remained  silent. 

"  We  both  know,  at  least  I  know,  from  sad  experience,  that 
I  am  far  from  being  invulnerable.  Now  answer  me,  Cecil, — 
not  as  a  female,  struggling  to  support  the  false  pride  of  her  sex, 
but  as  a  woman,  generous  and  full  of  heart,  hke  yourself, — 
were  the  events  of  the  last  six  months  to  recur,  whether  would 
you  live  them  over  affianced  in  secret,  or  as  an  acknowledged 
wife,  who  might  not  blush  to  show  her  tenderness  to  the 
world  r 

It  was  not  until  the  large  drops,  that  glistened  at  his  words 
upon  the  dark  lashes  of  Miss  Dynevor,  were  shaken  from  the 
tremulous  fringes  that  concealed  her  eyes,  that  she  looked  up, 
blushing,  into  his  face,  and  said — 

"  Do  you  not  then  think  that  I  endured  enough,  as  one  who 
felt  herself  betrothed  ;  but  that  closer  ties  were  necessary  to  fill 
the  measure  of  my  suffering  ?" 

"  I  cannot  even  thank  you  as  I  would  for  those  flattering 
tears,  until  my  question  is  plainly  answered.'' 

"  Is  this  altogether  generous,  Lincoln 

"  Perhaps  not  in  appearance,  but  sincerely  so  in  truth.  By 
heaven,  Cecil,  I  would  shelter  and  protect  you  from  a  rude  con- 
tact with  the  world,  even  as  I  seek  my  own  happiness !" 

Miss  Dynevor  was  not  only  confused,  but  distressed ;  she 
however  said,  in  a  low  voice — 

"  You  forget.  Major  Lincoln,  that  I  have  one  to  consult,  with- 
out whose  approbation  I  can  promise  nothing." 

"  Will  you,  then,  refer  the  question  to  her  wisdom  ?  Should 
Mrs.  Lechmere  approve  of  our  immediate  union,  may  I  say  to 
her,  that  you  authorize  me  to  ask  it  ?" 

Cecil  said  nothing ;  but  smiling  through  her  tears,  she  per- 
mitted Lionel  to  take  her  hand  in  a  manner  that  a  much  less 


280 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


sanguine  man  would  have  found  no  difficulty  in  construing  into 
an  assent. 

"  Come,  then,"  lie  cried,  let  us  hasten  to  the  apartment  of 
Mrs.  Lechmere ;  did  you  not  say  she  expected  me  ?"  She  suf- 
fered him  to  draw  her  arm  through  his  own,  and  lead  her  from 
the  room.  NotAvithstanding  the  buoyant  hopes  with  which 
Lionel  conducted  his  companion  through  the  passages  of  the 
house,  he  did  not  approach  the  chamber  of  Mrs.  Lechmere 
without  some  inward  repugnance.  It  was  not  possible  to  forget 
entirely  all  that  had  so  recently  passed,  or  to  still,  effectually, 
those  dark  suspicions  which  had  been  once  awakened  within  his 
bosom.  His  purpose,  however,  bore  him  onward,  and  a  glance 
at  the  trembling  being,  who  now  absolutely  leaned  on  him  for 
support,  drove  every  consideration,  in  which  she  did  not  form  a 
most  prominent  part,  from  his  mind. 

The  enfeebled  appearance  of  the  invaHd,  with  a  sudden  recol- 
lection that  she  had  sustained  so  much,  in  consequence  of  her 
anxiety  in  his  own  behalf,  so  far  aided  the  cause  of  his  aunt, 
that  the  young  man  not  only  met  her  with  cordiality,  but  with 
a  feeling  akin  to  gratitude. 

The  indisposition  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  had  now  continued  for 
several  weeks,  and  her  features,  aged  and  sunken  as  they  were, 
by  the  general  decay  of  nature,  afforded  strong  additional  testi- 
mony of  the  severity  of  her  recent  illness.  Her  face,  besides 
being  paler  and  more  emaciated  than  usual,  had  caught  that 
anxious  expression,  which  great  and  protracted  bodily  ailing  is 
apt  to  leave  on  the  human  countenance.  Her  brow  was,  how- 
ever, smooth  and  satisfied,  unless  at  moments,  when  a  slight  and 
involuntary  play  of  the  muscles  betrayed  that  fleeting  pains 
continued,  at  short  intervals,  to  remind  her  of  her  illness.  She 
received  her  visitors  with  a  smile  that  was  softer  and  more  con- 
ciliating than  usual,  and  which  the  pallid  and  careworn  appear- 
ance of  her  features  rendered  deeply  impressive. 

"  It  is  kind,  cousin  Lionel,"  she  said,  extending  her  withered 
band  to  her  young  kinsman,  "  in  the  sick  to  come  thus  to  visit 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


281 


the  well.  For  after  so  long  apprehending  the  worst  on  your 
account,  I  cannot  consent  that  my  trifling  injury  should  be  men- 
tioned before  your  more  serious  wounds." 

"  Would,  madam,  that  you  had  as  happily  recovered  from 
their  effects  as  myself,"  returned  Lionel,  taking  her  hand,  and 
pressing  it  with  great  sincerity.  "  I  shall  never  forget  that  you 
owe  your  illness  to  anxiety  for  me." 

"  Let  it  pass,  sir  ;  it  is  natural  that  we  should  feel  strongly  in 
behalf  of  those  we  love.  I  have  lived  to  see  you  well  again, 
and,  God  willing,  I  shall  live  to  see  this  wicked  rebellion  crushed." 
She  paused ;  and  smiling  for  a  moment  on  the  young  pair  who 
had  approached  her  couch,  she  continued,  "  Cecil  has  told  me 
all,  Major  Lincoln." 

"  No,  not  all,  dear  madam,"  interrupted  Lionel ;  "  I  have 
something  yet  to  add ;  and  in  the  commencement,  I  will  own 
that  I  depend  altogether  on  your  pity  and  judgment  to  support 
my  pretensions." 

"  Pretensions  is  an  injudicious  word,  cousin  Lionel ;  where 
there  is  a  perfect  equality  of  birth,  education,  and  virtues,  and, 
I  may  say,  considering  the  difference  in  the  sexes,  of  fortune 
too,  it  may  amount  to  claims ;  but  pretensions  is  an  expression 
too  ambiguous.  Cecil,  my  child,  go  to  my  library ;  in  the 
small,  secret  drawer  of  my  escritoire,  you  will  find  a  paper  bear- 
ing your  name ;  read  it,  my  love,  and  then  bring  it  hither." 

She  motioned  to  Lionel  to  be  seated,  and  when  the  door  had 
closed  on  the  retiring  form  of  Cecil,  she  resumed  the  conversa- 
tion. 

"As  we  are  about  to  speak  of  business,  the  confused  girl  may 
as  well  be  relieved.  Major  Lincoln.  What  is  this  particular 
favor  that  I  shall  be  required  to  yield  ?" 

"  Like  any  other  sturdy  mendicant,  who  may  have  already 
partaken  largely  of  your  bounty,  I  come  to  beg  the  immediate 
gift  of  the  last  and  greatest  boon  you  can  bestow." 

"  My  grandchild.  There  is  no  necessity  for  useless  reserves 
between  us,  cousin  Lionel,  for  you  will  remember  that  I  too  am 


282 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


a  Liiicoln.  Let  us  tlien  speak  freely,  like  two  friends,  wlio  have 
met  to  determine  on  a  matter  equally  near  to  the  heart  of  each." 

"  Such  is  my  earnest  wish,  madam.  I  have  been  urging  on 
Miss  Dynevor  the  peril  of  the  times,  and  the  critical  situation  of 
the  country,  in  both  of  which  I  have  found  the  strongest  rea- 
sons for  our  immediate  union." 

"And  Cecil—?" 

"Has  been  like  herself — kind,  but  dutiful.  She  refers  me 
entirely  to  your  decision,  by  which  alone  she  consents  to  be 
guided." 

Mrs.  Lechmere  made  no  immediate  reply,,  but  her  features 
powerfully  betrayed  the  inward  workings  of  her  mind.  It  cer- 
tainly was  not  displeasure  that  caused  her  to  hesitate,  her  hol- 
low eye  lighting  with  a  gleam  of  satisfaction  that  could  not  be 
mistaken ;  neither  was  it  uncertainty,  for  her  whole  countenance 
seemed  to  express  rather  the  uncontrollable  agitation  which 
might  accompany  the  sudden  accomplishment  of  long-desired 
ends  than  any  doubt  as  to  their  prudence.  Gradually  her  agita- 
tion subsided ;  and  as  her  feelings  became  more  natural,  her 
hard  eyes  filled  with  tears,  and  when  she  spoke,  there  was  a 
softness  mingled  with  the  tremor  of  her  voice,  that  Lionel  had 
never  before  witnessed. 

"  She  is  a  good  and  a  dutiful  child,  my  own,  my  obedient 
Cecil !  She  will  bring  you  no  wealth.  Major  Lincoln,  that  will 
be  esteemed  among  your  hoards,  nor  any  proud  title  to  add  to 
the  lustre  of  your  honorable  name ;  but  she  will  bring  you  what 
is  as  good,  if  not  better — nay,  I  am  sure  it  must  be  better — a 
pure  and  virtuous  heart,  that  knows  no  guile." 

"A  thousand  and  a  thousand  times  more  estimable  in  my 
eyes,  my  worthy  aunt !"  cried  Lionel,  melting  before  the  touch 
of  nature,  which  had  so  effectually  softened  the  harsh  feelings  of 
Mrs.  Lechmere;  "let  her  come  to  my  arms  pennyless,  and 
without  a  name ;  she  will  be  no  less  my  wife — no  less  her  own 
mvaluable  self." 

"  I  spoke  only  by  comparison,  Major  Lincoln  :  the  child  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


283 


Colonel  Dynevor,  and  the  granddaughter  of  the  Lord  Viscount 
Cardonnell,  can  have  no  cause  to  blush  for  her  lineage ;  neither 
will  the  descendant  of  John  Lechmere  be  a  dowerless  bride. 
When  Cecil  shall  become  Lady  Lincoln,  she  need  never  wish  to 
conceal  the  escutcheon  of  her  own  ancestors  under  the  bloody 
hand  of  her  husband's." 

"  May  heaven  long  avert  the  hour  when  either  of  us  may  be 
required  to  use  the  symbol !"  exclaimed  Lionel. 

"  Did  I  not  understand  aright  ?  was  not  your  request  for  an 
instant  marriage  ?" 

"  Xever  less  in  error,  my  dear  madam ;  but  you  surely  do 
not  forget  that  one  lives  so  mutually  dear  to  us,  who  has  every 
reason  to  hope  for  many  years  of  life ;  and  I  trust,  too,  of  hap- 
piness and  reason." 

Mrs.  Lechmere  looked  wildly  at  her  nephew,  and  then  passed 
her  hand  slowly  before  her  eyes,  from  whence  she  did  not  with- 
draw them  until  a  universal  shudder  had  shaken  the  whole  of 
her  enfeebled  frame. 

"  You  are  right,  my  young  cousin,"  she  said,  smiling  faintly ; 
"  I  believe  my  bodily  weakness  has  impaired  my  memory.  I 
was  indeed  dreaming  of  days  long  since  past.  You  stood  be- 
fore me  in  the  image  of  your  desolate  father,  while  Cecil  bore 
that  of  her  mother — my  own  long-lost  but  wilful  Agnes !  Oh  ! 
she  was  my  child !  my  child  !  and  God  has  forgotten  her  faults 
in  mercy  to  a  mother's  prayers." 

Lionel  recoiled  a  step  before  the  wild  energy  of  the  invalid's 
manner,  in  speechless  amazement.  A  flush  had  passed  into  her 
pallid  cheeks,  and  as  she  concluded,  she  clasped  her  hands  be- 
fore her,  and  sunk  on  the  pillows  which  supported  her  back. 
Large  insulated  tears  fell  from  her  eyes,  and,  slowly  moving 
over  her  wasted  cheeks,  dropped  singly  upon  the  counterpane. 
Lionel  laid  his  hand  upon  the  night-bell,  but  an  expressive  ges- 
ture from  his  aunt  prevented  his  ringing. 

"I  am  well  again,"  she  said;  "hand  me  the  restorative  by 
your  side." 


284 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Mrs.  Lechmere  drank  freely  from  the  glass,  and  in  another 
minute  lier  agitation  subsided,  lier  features  settling  into  their 
rigid  composure,  and  her  eye  resuming  its  hard  expression,  as 
though  nothing  had  occurred  to  disturb  her  usual  cold  and 
worldly  look. 

"  You  see  he  w  much  better  youth  can  endure  the  ravages  of 
disease  than  age,  by  my  present  weakness,  Major  Lincoln,"  she 
continued ;  "  but  let  us  return  to  other  and  more  agreeable  sub- 
jects— you  have  not  only  my  consent,  but  my  wish,  that  you 
should  wed  my  grandchild.  It  is  a  happiness  that  I  have  rather 
hoped  for  than  dared  to  expect,  and  I  will  freely  add,  'tis  a  con- 
summation of  my  wishes  that  will  render  the  evening  of  my 
days  not  only  happy,  but  blessed." 

"  Then,  dearest  madam,  why  should  it  be  delayed  ? — no  one 
can  say  what  a  day  may  bring  forth,  at  such  a  time  as  this,  and 
the  moment  of  bustle  and  action  is  not  the  hour  to  register  the 
marriage  vows." 

After  musing  a  moment,  Mrs.  Lechmere  replied — 

"  We  have  a  good  and  holy  custom  in  this  rehgious  province, 
of  choosing  the  day  which  the  Lord  has  set  apart  for  his  own 
exclusive  worship  as  that  on  which  to  enter  into  the  honorable 
state  of  matrimony.  Choose,  then,  between  this  or  the  next 
Sabbath  for  your  nuptials." 

Whatever  might  be  the  ardor  of  the  young  man,  he  was  a 
little  surprised  at  the  shortness  of  the  former  period ;  but  the 
pride  of  his  sex  would  not  admit  of  any  hesitation. 

"  Let  it  be  this  day,  if  Miss  Dynevor  can  be  brought  freely  to 
consent." 

"  Here  then  she  comes  to  tell  you  that,  at  my  request,  she 
does.  Cecil,  my  own  sweet  child,  I  have  promised  Major  Lin- 
coln that  you  will  become  his  wife  this  day." 

Miss  Dynevor,  who  had  advanced  into  the  centre  of  the  room, 
before  she  heard  the  purport  of  this  speech,  stopped  short,  and 
stood  like  a  beautiful  statue,  expressing  astonishment  and  dis- 
may.   Her  color  went  and  came  with  alarming  quickness,  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


285 


the  paper  fell  from  her  trembling  hands  to  her  feet,  which  ap- 
peared riveted  to  the  floor. 

"  To-day !"  she  repeated,  in  a  voice  barely  audible — "  did  you 
say  to-day,  my  grandmother  ?" 

"  Even  to-day,  my  child." 

"  Why  this  reluctance,  this  alarm,  Cecil  V  said  Lionel,  ap- 
proaching, and  leading  her  gently  to  a  seat.  "  You  know  the 
peril  of  the  times — you  have  condescended  to  own  your  senti- 
ments— consider  ;  the  winter  is  breaking,  and  the  first  thaw  can 
lead  to  events  which  may  entirely  alter  our  situation." 

"  All  these  may  have  weight  in  your  eyes.  Major  Lincoln," 
interrupted  Mrs.  Lechmere,  in  a  voice  whose  marked  solemnity 
drew  the  attention  of  her  hearers ;  "  but  I  have  other  and  deeper 
motives.  Have  I  not  already  proved  the  dangers  and  the  evils 
of  delay  ?  Ye  are  young,  and  ye  are  virtuous ;  why  should  ye 
not  be  happy  ?  Cecil,  if  you  love  and  revere  me,  as  I  think  you 
do,  you  will  become  his  wife  this  day." 

"  Let  me  have  time  to  think,  dearest  grandmother.  The  tie 
is  so  new  and  so  solemn  !  Major  Lincoln, — dear  Lionel, — you 
are  not  wont  to  be  ungenerous  ;  I  throw  myself  on  your  kind- 
ness 1" 

Lionel  did  not  speak,  and  Mrs.  Lechmere  calmly  answered — 
"  'Tis  not  at  his,  but  my  request,  that  you  will  comply." 
Miss  Dynevor  rose  from  her  seat  by  the  side  of  Lionel,  with 

an  air  of  offended  delicacy,  and  said,  with  a  mournful  smile,  to 

her  lover — 

"  Illness  has  rendered  my  good  mother  timid  and  weak — will 
you  excuse  my  desire  to  be  alone  with  her  ?" 

"  I  leave  you,  Cecil,"  he  said,  "  but  if  you  ascribe  my  silence 
to  any  other  motive  than  tenderness  to  your  feelings,  you  are 
unjust  both  to  yourself  and  me." 

She  expressed  her  gratitude  only  in  her  looks,  and  he  imme- 
diately withdrew,  to  await  the  result  of  their  conversation  in  his 
own  apartment.  The  half  hour  that  Lionel  passed  in  his  cham- 
ber seemed  half  a  year ;  but  at  the  expiration  of  that  short  pe- 


286 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


riod  of  time,  Meriton  came  to  announce  that  Mrs.  Leclimere 
desired  his  presence  again  in  her  room. 

The  first  glance  of  her  eye  assured  Major  Lincoln  that  his 
cause  had  triumphed.  His  aunt  had  sunk  back  on  her  pillows, 
with  her  countenance  set  in  a  calculating  and  rigid  expression, 
which  indicated  a  satisfaction  so  selfish  that  it  almost  induced 
the  young  man  to  regret  she  had  not  failed.  But  when  his 
eyes  met  the  tearful  and  timid  glances  of  the  blushing  Cecil,  he 
felt  that,  provided  she  could  be  his  without  violence  to  her  feel- 
ings, he  cared  but  little  at  whose  instigation  she  had  consented. 

"  If  I  am  to  read  my  fate  by  your  goodness,  I  know  I  may 
hope,"  he  said,  advancing  to  her  side — "  if  m  my  own  deserts, 
I  am  left  to  despair." 

"  Perhaps  'twas  foolish,  Lincoln,"  she  said,  smihng  through 
her  tears,  and  frankly  placing  her  hand  in  his,  "  to  hesitate 
about  a  few  days,  when  I  feel  ready  to  devote  my  life  to  your 
happiness.  It  is  the  wish  of  my  grandmother  that  I  place  my- 
self under  your  protection." 

"  Then  this  evening  unites  us  forever  ?" 

"  There  is  no  obligation  on  your  gallantry,  that  it  should  posi- 
tively take  place  this  very  evening,  if  any  or  the  least  difficulties 
present." 

"  But  none  do,  nor  can,"  interrupted  Lionel.  "  Happily  the 
marriage  forms  of  the  colony  are  simple,  and  we  enjoy  the  con- 
sent of  all  who  have  any  right  to  interfere." 

"  Go,  then,  my  children,  and  complete  your  brief  arrange- 
ments," said  Mrs.  Lechmere  :  "  'tis  a  solemn  knot  that  ye  tie  ! 
it  must,  it  will  be  happy  1" 

Lionel  pressed  the  hand  of  his  intended  bride,  and  withdrew  ; 
and  Cecil,  throwing  herself  into  the  arms  of  her  grandmother, 
gave  vent  to  her  feelings  in  a  burst  of  tears.  Mrs.  Lechmere 
did  not  repulse  her  child;  on  the  contrary,  she  pressed  her  once 
or  twice  to  her  heart ;  but  still  an  observant  spectator  might 
have  seen  that  her  looks  betrayed  more  of  worldly  pride,  than  of 
those  natural  emotions  which  such  a  scene  ought  to  have  excited 


LIONEL    LINGO  LK. 


287 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

**  Come,  friar  Francis,  be  brief ;  only  to  the  plain  form  of  marriage." 

Much  ado  about  nothino. 

Major  Lincoln  had  justly  said,  the  laws  regulating  marriages 
in  the  Massachusetts,  which  were  adapted  to  the  infant  state  of 
the  country,  threw  but  few  impediments  in  the  way  of  the  in- 
dissoluble connection.  Cecil  had,  however,  been  educated  in 
the  bosom  of  the  English  Church,  and  she  clung  to  its  forms 
and  ceremonies  with  an  affection  that  may  easily  be  accounted 
for  in  their  solemnity  and  beauty.  Notwithstanding  the  colo- 
nists often  chose  the  weekly  festival  for  their  bridals,  the  rage 
of  reform  had  excluded  the  altar  from  most  of  their  temples, 
and  it  was  not  usual  with  them  to  celebrate  their  nuptials  in 
the  places  of  public  worship.  But  there  appeared  so  much  of 
unreasonable  haste,  and  so  little  of  due  preparation,  in  her  own 
case,  that  Miss  Dynevor,  anxious  to  give  all  solemnity  to  an  act, 
to  whose  importance  she  was  sensibly  alive,  expressed  her  desire 
to  pronounce  her  vows  at  that  altar  where  she  had  so  long  been 
used  to  worship,  and  under  that  roof  where  she  had  already, 
since  the  rising  of  the  sun,  poured  out  the  thanksgivings  of  her 
pure  spirit  in  behalf  of  the  man  who  was  so  soon  to  become  her 
husband. 

As  Mrs.  Lechmere  had  declared  that  the  agitation  of  the  day 
and  her  feeble  condition  must  unavoidably'prevent  her  witness- 
ing the  ceremony,  there  existed  no  sufficient  reason  for  not  in- 
dulging the  request  of  her  grandchild,  notwithstanding  it  was 
not  in  strict  accordance  with  the  customs  of  the  place.  But 
being  married  at  the  altar,  and  being  married  in  public,  were 


238 


LIONEL  LINCOLX. 


not  similar  duties ;  and  in  order  to  effect  the  one  and  avoid  tlie 
other,  it  was  necessary  to  postpone  the  ceremony  until  a  late 
hour,  and  to  clothe  the  whole  in  a  cloak  of  mystery,  that  the 
otherwise  unembarrassed  state  of  the  parties  w^ould  not  have  re- 
quired. 

Miss  Dynevor  made  no  other  confidant  than  her  cousin.  Her 
feelings  being  altogether  elevated  above  the  ordinarily  idle  con- 
siderations which  are  induced  by  time  and  preparations  on  such 
an  occasion,  her  brief  arrangements  were  soon  ended,  and  she 
awaited  the  appointed  moment  w^ithout  alarm,  if  not  without 
emotion. 

Lionel  had  much  more  to  perform.  He  knew  that  the  least 
intimation  of  such  a  scene  would  collect  a  curious  and  a  dis- 
agreeable crowd  around  and  in  the  church,  and  he  therefore  de- 
termined that  his  plans  should  be  arranged  in  silence,  and  man- 
aged secretly.  In  order  to  prevent  a  surprise,  Meriton  was  sent 
to  the  clergyman,  requesting  him  to  appoint  an  hour  in  the 
evening  when  he  could  give  an  interview  to  Major  Lincoln.  He 
was  answered  that  at  any  moment  after  nine  o'clock  Dr.  Liturgy 
would  be  released  from  the  duties  of  the  day,  and  in  readiness 
to  receive  him.  There  was  no  alternative ;  and  ten  was  the 
time  mentioned  to  Cecil  when  she  was  requested  to  meet  him 
before  the  altar.  Major  Lincoln  distrusted  a  httle  the  discretion 
of  Polwarth,  and  he  contented  himself  with  merely  telhng  his 
friend  that  he  was  to  be  married  that  evening,  and  that  he  must 
be  careful  to  repair  to  Tremont-street  in  order  to  give  away  the 
bride,  appointing  an  hour  sufficiently. early  for  all  the  subsequent 
movements.  His  groom  and  his  valet  had  their  respective  and 
separate  orders,  and  long  before  the  important  moment,  he  had 
every  thing  arranged,  as  he  believed,  beyond  the  possibility  of  a 
disappointment. 

Perhaps  there  w^as  something  a  little  romantic,  if  not  diseased, 
in  the  mind  of  Lionel  that  caused  him  to  derive  a  secret  pleasure 
from  the  hidden  movements  he  contemplated.  He  was  certainly 
not  entirely  free  from  a  touch  of  that  melancholy  and  morbid 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


289 


Imiiior  which  has  been  mentioned  as  the  characteristic  of  his 
race,  nor  did  he  always  feel  the  less  happy  because  he  was  a 
little  miserable.  However,  either  by  his  activity  of  intellect  or 
that  excellent  training  in  life  he  had  undergone,  by  being  re- 
quired to  act  early  for  himself,  he  had  so  far  succeeded  in  quell- 
ing the  evil  spirit  within  him,  as  to  render  its  influence  quite 
imperceptible  to  others,  and  nearly  so  to  himself.  It  had,  in 
fine,  left  him  what  we  have  endeavored  to  represent  him  in  these 
pages — not  a  man  without  faults,  but  certainly  one  of  many 
high  and  generous  virtues. 

As  the  day  drew  to  a  close,  the  small  family  party  in  Tremont- 
street  collected,  in  their  usual  manner,  to  partake  of  the  evening 
repast,  which  was  common  throughout  the  colonies  at  that 
period.  Cecil  was  pale,  and  at  times  a  slight  tremor  was  per- 
ceptible in  the  little  hand  which  did  the  offices  of  the  table ; 
but  there  was  a  forced  calmness  seated  in  her  humid  eyes  that 
betokened  the  resolution  she  had  summoned  to  her  assistance  in 
order  to  comply  with  the  wishes  of  her  grandmother.  Agnes 
Danforth  was  silent  and  observant,  though  an  occasional  look, 
of  more  than  usual  meaning,  betrayed  what  she  thought  of  the 
mystery  and  suddenness  of  the  approaching  nuptials.  It  would 
seem,  however,  that  the  importance  of  the  step  she  was  about  to 
take  had  served  to  raise  the  bride  above  the  little  affectations  of 
her  sex ;  for  she  spoke  of  the  preparations  like  one  who  owned 
her  interest  in  their  completion,  and  who  even  dreaded  that 
something  might  yet  occur  to  mar  them. 

"  K  I  were  superstitious,  and  had  faith  in  omens,  Lincoln," 
she  said,  "  the  hour  and  the  weather  might  well  intimidate  me 
from  taking  this  step.  See,  the  wind  already  blows  across  the 
endless  wastes  of  the  ocean,  and  the  snow  is  driving  through 
the  streets  in  whirlwinds !" 

"  It  is  not  yet  too  late  to  countermand  my  orders,  Cecil,"  he 
said,  regarding  her  anxiously ;  "  I  have  made  all  my  movements 
so  like  a  great  commander,  that  it  is  as  easy  to  retrograde  as  to 
advance." 

13 


290 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


"  Would  you  tlien  retreat  before  one  so  little  formidable  as 
I  ?"  she  returned,  smiling. 

"  You  surely  understand  me  as  wishing  only  to  change  the 
place  of  our  marriage.  I  dread  exposing  you  and  our  kind 
cousin  to  the  tempest,  which,  as  you  say,  after  sweeping  over 
the  ocean  so  long,  appears  rejoiced  to  find  land  on  which  to  ex- 
pend its  fury." 

"I  have  not  misconstrued  your  meaning,  Lionel,  nor  must 
you  be  mistaken  in  mine.  I  will  become  your  wife  to-night, 
and  cheerfully  too ;  for  what  reason  can  I  have  to  doubt  you 
now  more  than  formerly  ?  But  my  vows  must  be  offered  at  the 
altar." 

Agnes,  perceiving  that  her  cousin  spoke  with  a  suppressed 
emotion  that  made  utterance  diflScult,  gayly  interrupted  her — 

"And  as  for  the  snow,  you  know  little  of  Boston  girls,  if  you 
think  an  icicle  has  any  teiTors  for  them.  I  vow,  Cecil,  I  do 
think  you  and  I  have  been  guilty,  when  children,  of  coasting  in 
a  hand-sled,  down  the  side  of  Beacon,  in  a  w^orse  flurry  than 
this." 

"  We  were  guilty  of  many  mad  and  silly  things  at  ten  that 
might  not  grace  twenty,  Agnes." 

"  Lord,  how  like  a  matron  she  speaks  already  I"  interrupted 
the  other,  throwing  up  her  eyes  and  clasping  her  hands  in  af- 
fected admiration :  "  nothing  short  of  the  church  will  satisfy  so 
discreet  a  dame.  Major  Lincoln !  so  dismiss  your  cares  on  her 
account,  and  begin  to  enumerate  the  cloaks  and  overcoats  neces- 
sary to  your  own  preservation." 

Lionel  made  a  lively  reply,  when  a  dialogue  of  some  spirit 
ensued  between  him  and  Agnes,  to  which  even  Cecil  Hstened 
with  a  beguiled  ear.  When  the  evening  had  advanced,  Pol- 
warth  made  his  appearance,  suitably  attired,  and  with  a  face 
that  was  sufficiently  knowing  and  important  for  the  occasion. 
The  presence  of  the  captain  reminded  Lionel  of  the  lateness  of 
the  hour,  and  without  delay,  he  hastened  to  communicate  his 
plans  to  his  friend. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


291 


At  a  few  minutes  before  ten,  Polwartli  was  to  accompany  the 
ladies  in  a  covered  sleigh  to  the  chapel,  which  was  not  a  stone's 
throw  from  their  residence,  where  the  bridegroom  was  to  be  in 
readiness  to  receive  them,  with  the  divine.  Referring  the  cap- 
tain to  Meriton  for  further  instructions,  and  without  waiting  to 
liear  the  other  express  his  amazement  at  the  singularity  of  the 
plan.  Major  Lincoln  said  a  few  word^  of  tender  encouragement 
to  Cecil,  looked  at  his  watch,  and  throwing  his  cloak  around 
him,  took  his  hat,  and  departed. 

We  shall  leave  Polwarth  endeavoring  to  extract  the  meaning 
of  all  these  mysterious  movements  from  the  wilful  and  amused 
Agnes  (Cecil  having  retired  also),  and  accompany  the  bride- 
groom in  his  progress  towards  the  residence  of  the  divine. 

Major  Lincoln  found  the  streets  entirely  deserted.  The  night 
was  not  dark,  for  a  full  moon  was  wading  among  the  volumes 
of  clouds,  which  drove  before  the  tempest  in  dark  and  threaten- 
ing masses,  that  contrasted  singularly  and  wildly  to  the  light 
covering  of  the  hills  and  buildings  of  the  town.  Occasionally 
the  gusts  of  the  wind  would  lift  eddying  wreaths  of  fine  snow 
from  some  roof,  and  whole  squares  were  wrapt  in  mist  as  the 
frozen  vapor  whistled  by.  At  times,  the  gale  howled  among 
the  chimneys  and  turrets,  in  a  steady,  sullen  roaring ;  and  there 
were  again  moments  when  the  element  appeared  hushed,  as  if 
its  fury  were  expended,  and  winter,  having  worked  its  might, 
was  yielding  to  the  steady,  but  insensible  advances  of  spring. 
There  was  something  in  the  season  and  the  hour  peculiarly  in 
consonance  with  the  excited  temperament  of  the  young  bride- 
groom. Even  the  solitude  of  the  streets,  and  the  hollow  rush- 
ing of  the  winds,  the  fleeting  and  dim  light  of  the  moon,  which 
afibrded  passing  glimpses  of  surrounding  objects,  and  then  was 
bid  behind  a  dark  veil  of  shifting  vapor,  contributed  to  his  pleas- 
ure. He  made  his  way  through  the  snow,  with  that  species  of 
Btern  joy,  to  which  all  are  indebted,  at  times,  for  moments  of 
wild  and  pleasing  self-abandonment.  His  thoughts  vacillated 
between  the  purpose  of  the  hour,  and  the  unlooked-for  coinci- 


292 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


dence  of  circumstances  that  had  clothed  it  in  a  dress  of  such 
romantic  mystery.  Once  or  twice  a  painful  and  dark  thought, 
connected  with  the  secret  of  Mrs.  Lechmere's  life,  found  its  way 
among  his  more  pleasing  visions,  but  it  was  quickly  chased  from 
his  mind  by  the  image  of  her  who  awaited  his  movements  in  such 
confiding  faith,  and  with  such  secure  and  dependent  affection. 

As  the  residence  of  Dr.  Liturgy  was  on  the  North-end,  which 
was  then  one  of  the  fashionable  quarters  of  the  town,  the  dis- 
tance required  that  Lionel  should  be  diligent,  in  order  to  be 
punctual  to  his  appointment.  Young,  active,  and  full  of  hope, 
he  passed  along  the  unequal  pavements  with  great  rapidity,  and 
had  the  satisfaction  of  perceiving  by  his  watch,  when  admitted 
to  the  presence  of  the  clergyman,  that  his  speed  had  even  out- 
stripped the  proverbial  fleetness  of  time  itself. 

The  reverend  gentleman  was  in  his  study,  consoling  himself 
for  the  arduous  duties  of  the  day,  with  the  comforts  of  a  large 
easy-chair,  a  warm  fire,  and  a  pitcher  filled  with  a  mixture  of 
cider  and  ginger,  together  with  other  articles  that  would  have 
done  credit  to  the  knowledge  of  Polwarth  in  spices.  His  full 
and  decorous  wig  was  replaced  by  a  velvet  cap,  his  shoes  were 
unbuckled,  and  his  heels  released  from  confinement.  In  short, 
all  his  arrangements  were  those  of  a  man  who,  having  endured 
a  day  of  labor,  was  resolved  to  prove  the  enjoyments  of  an  even- 
ing of  rest.  His  pipe,  though  filled,  and  on  the  little  table  by 
his  side,  was  not  lighted,  in  compliment  to  the  guest  he  expected 
at  that  hour.  As  he  was  slightly  acquainted  with  Major  Lin- 
coln, no  introduction  was  necessary,  and  the  two  gentlemen 
were  soon  seated ;  the  one  endeavoring  to  overcome  the  embar- 
prassment  he  felt  on  revealing  his  singular  errand,  and  the  other 
waiting,  in  no  little  curiosity,  to  learn  the  reason  why  a  member 
of  Parliament,  and  the  heir  of  ten  thousand  a  year,  should  come 
abroad  on  such  an  unpropitious  night. 

At  length  Lionel  succeeded  in  making  the  astonished  priest  ^ 
understand  his  wishes,  and  paused  to  hear  the  expected  appro- 
bation of  his  proposal. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


293 


Dr.  Liturgy  Lad  listened  with  the  most  profound  attention,  as 
if  to  catch  some  clue  to  explain  the  mystery  of  the  extraordinary 
proceeding,  and  when  the  young  man  concluded,  he  uncon- 
Bciously  lighted  his  pipe,  and  began  to  throw  out  large  clouds 
of  smoke,  like  a  man  who  felt  there  was  a  design  to  abridge  his 
pleasures,  and  who  was  consequently  determined  to  make  the 
most  of  his  time. 

"  Married  1  To  be  married  in  church  !  and  after  the  night 
lecture  ?"  he  muttered  in  a  low  voice  between  his  long-drawn 
puifs.  "  'Tis  my  duty — certainly — Major  Lincoln — to  marry  my 
parishioners- — " 

"  In  the  present  instance,  as  I  know  my  request  to  be  irregular, 
sir,"  interrupted  the  impatient  Lionel,  ^'  I  will  make  it  your  in- 
terest also."  While  speaking,  he  took  a  well-filled  purse  from 
his  pocket,  and,  with  an  air  of  much  delicacy,  laid  a  small  pile 
of  gold  by  the  side  of  the  silver  spectacle-case  of  the  divine,  as 
if  to  show  him  the  difference  in  the  value  of  the  two  metals. 

Dr.  Liturgy  bowed  his  acknowledgments,  and  insensibly 
changed  the  stream  of  smoke  to  the  opposite  corner  of  his 
mouth,  so  as  to  leave  the  view  of  the  ghttering  boon  unob- 
structed. At  the  same  time  he  raised  the  heel  of  one  shoe,  and 
threw  an  anxious  glance  at  the  curtained  window,  to  inquire 
into  the  state  of  the  weather. 

"  Could  not  the  ceremony  be  performed  at  the  house  of  Mrs. 
Lechmere  ?"  he  asked :  "  Miss  Dynevor  is  a  tender  child,  and  I 
fear  the  cold  air  of  the  chapel  might  do  her  no  service." 

"  It  is  her  wish  to  go  to  the  altar,  and  you  are  sensible  it  is 
not  my  part  to  question  her  decision  in  such  a  matter." 

"  'Tis  a  pious  incHnation  ;  though  I  trust  she  knows  the  dis- 
tinction between  the  spiritual  and  the  temporal  church.  The 
laws  of  the  colonies  are  too  loose  on  the  subject  of  marriages^ 
Major  Lincoln ;  culpably  and  dangerously  loose  1" 

"  But  as  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  alter,  my  good  sir,  you  will 
permit  me  to  profit  by  them,  imperfect  as  they  are  ?" 

"  Undeniably — it  is  part  of  my  office  to  christen,  to  marry^ 


294 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


and  to  bury ;  a  duty  whicli,  I  often  say,  covers  tlie  beginning, 
the  middle,  and  the  end  of  existence. — But  permit  me  to  help 
you  to  a  little  of  my  beverage,  Major  Lincoln — we  call  it  ^  Sam- 
son,' in  Boston  ;  you  will  find  the  '  Danite'  a  warm  companion 
for  a  February  night  in  this  climate." 

"  The  mixture  is  not  inaptly  named,  sir,"  said  Lionel, 
after  wetting  his  lips,  "if  strength  be  the  quality  most  con- 
sidered." 

"  Ah  !  you  have  him  from  the  lap  of  a  Delilah ;  but  it  is  un- 
becoming in  one  of  my  cloth  to  meddle  with  aught  of  the 
harlot." 

He  laughed  at  his  own  wit,  and  made  a  more  spirituous  than 
spiritual  addition  to  his  glass,  while  he  continued — 

"  We  divide  it  into  *  Samson  with  his  hair  off,'  and  *  Samson 
with  his  hair  on and  I  believe  myself  the  most  orthodox  in 
preferring  the  man  of  strength  in  his  native  comeliness.  I 
pledge  you.  Major  Lincoln  :  may  the  middle  of  your  days  be  as 
happy  as  the  charming  young  lady  you  are  about  to  espouse 
may  well  render  them ;  and  your  end,  sir,  that  of  a  good 
churchman,  and  a  faithful  subject." 

Lionel,  who  considered  this  compliment  as  an  indication  of  his 
success,  now  rose,  and  said  a  few  words  on  the  subject  of  their 
meeting  in  the  chapel.  The  divine,  who  manifestly  possessed 
no  great  relish  for  the  duty,  made  sundry  slight  objections  to 
the  whole  proceeding,  which  were,  however,  soon  overcome  by 
the  arguments  of  the  bridegroom.  At  length,  every  difficulty 
w^as  happily  adjusted,  save  one,  and  that  the  epicurean  doctor 
stoutly  declared  to  be  a  serious  objection  to  acting  in  the  mat- 
ter. The  church  fires  were  suffered  to  go  down,  and  his  sexton 
had  been  taken  from  the  chapel,  that  very  evening,  with  every 
symptom  on  him  of  the  terrible  pestilence  which  then  raged 
in  the  place,  adding,  by  its  danger,  to  the  horrors  and  the  pri- 
vations of  the  siege. 

"  A  clear  case  of  the  small-pox,  I  do  assure  you.  Major  Lin- 
coln," he  continued,  "and  contracted,  without  doubt,  from  some 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


295 


emissaries  sent  into  the  town  for  that  purpose,  by  the  wicked 
devices  of  the  rebels." 

"  I  have  heard  that  each  party  accuses  the  other  of  resorting 
to  these  unjustifiable  means  of  annoyance,"  returned  Lionel ; 
"  but,  as  I  know  our  own  leader  to  be  above  such  baseness,  I 
will  not  suspect  any  other  man  of  it  without  proof." 

"  Too  charitable  by  half,  sir — much  too  charitable  !  But  let 
the  disease  come  whence  it  will,  I  fear  my  sexton  will  prove  its 
vict'm." 

"  I  will  take  the  charge  on  myself  of  having  the  fires  re- 
newed," said  Lionel :  "  the  embers  must  yet  be  in  the  stoves, 
and  we  have  still  an  hour  of  time  before  us." 

As  the  clergyman  was  much  too  conscientious  to  retain  pos- 
session of  the  gold  without  fully  entitling  himself  to  the  owner- 
ship, he  had  long  before  determined  to  comply,  notwithstanding 
the  secret  yearnings  of  his  flesh.  Their  plans  were  now  soon 
arranged,  and  Lionel,  after  receiving  the  key  of  the  chapel,  took 
his  leave  for  a  time. 

When  Major  Lincoln  found  himself  in  the  street  again,  he 
walked  for  some  distance  in  the  direction  of  the  chapel,  anxiously 
looking  along  the  deserted  way,  in  order  to  discover  an  unem- 
ployed soldier,  who  might  serve  to  perform  the  menial  oflSces  of 
the  absent  sexton.  He  proceeded  for  some  distance  without 
success  ;  for  every  thing  human  seemed  housed,  even  the  num- 
ber of  lights  in  the  windows  beginning  to  decrease  in  a  manner 
which  denoted  that  the  usual  hour  of  rest  had  arrived.  He  had 
paused  in  the  entrance  of  the  Dock  Square,  uncertain  where  to 
apply  for  an  assistant,  when  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  figure 
of  a  man,  crouching  under  the  walls  of  the  old  turreted  ware- 
house, so  often  mentioned.  Without  hesitating  an  instant,  he 
approached  the  spot,  from  w^hich  the  figure  neither  moved,  nor 
did  it  indeed  betray  any  other  evidence  of  a  consciousness  of - 
his  proximity.  Notwithstanding  the  dimness  of  the  moon,  there 
was  light  enough  to  detect  the  extreme  misery  of  the  object  be- 
fore him.    His  tattered  and  thin  attire  sufficiently  bespoke  the 


296 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


motive  of  the  stranger  for  seeking  a  shelter  from  the  cutting 
winds  behind  an  angle  of  the  wall,  while  his  physical  wants 
were  betrayed  by  the  eager  manner  in  which  he  gnawed  at  a 
bone  that  might  well  have  been  rejected  from  the  mess  of  the 
meanest  private,  notwithstanding  the  extreme  scarcity  that  pre- 
vailed in  the  garrison.  Lionel  forgot  for  a  moment  his  present 
object,  at  this  exhibition  of  human  suffering,  and  with  a  kind 
voice  he  addressed  the  wretched  being. 

"  You  have  a  cold  spot  to  eat  your  supper  in,  my  friend,"  he 
said ;  "  and  it  would  seem,  too,  but  a  scanty  meal." 

Without  ceasing  to  masticate  his  miserable  nutriment,  or  even 
raising  his  eyes,  the  other  said,  in  a  growling  voice — 

"The  king  could  shut  up  the  harbor,  and  keep  out  the  ships; 
but  he  hasn't  the  might  to  drive  cold  weather  from  Boston,  in 
the  month  of  March  T 

"  As  I  live.  Job  Pray  !  Come  with  me,  boy,  and  I  will  give 
you  a  better  meal,  and  a  warmer  place  to  enjoy  it  in  ;  but  first 
tell  me,  can  you  procure  a  lantern  and  a  light  from  your  mother?" 

"  You  can't  go  in  the  ware'us'  to-night,"  returned  the  lad, 
positively. 

"  Is  there  no  place  at  hand,  then,  where  such  things  might  be 
purchased  ?" 

"  They  keep  them  there,"  said  Job,  pointing  sullenly  to  a  low 
building  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  square,  through  one  of  the 
windows  of  which  a  faint  light  was  glimmering. 

"  Then  take  this  money,  and  go  buy  them  for  me,  without 
delay." 

Job  hesitated  with  ill-concealed  reluctance. 

"  Go,  fellow,  I  have  instant  need  of  them,  and  you  can  keep 
the  change  for  your  reward." 

The  young  man  no  longer  betrayed  any  indisposition  to  go, 
but  answered  with  great  promptitude,  for  one  of  his  imbecile 
mind — 

Job  will  go,  if  you  will  let  him  buy  Nab  some  meat  with 
the  change?" 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


297 


"  Certainly,  buy  what  you  will  with  it ;  and  furthermore,  I 
promise  you,  that  neither  your  mother  nor  yourself  shall  want 
again  for  food  or  clothing." 

"  Job's  a-hungry,"  said  the  simpleton  ;  "  but  they  say  hunger 
don't  come  as  craving  upon  a  young  stomach  as  upon  an  old 
one.  Do  you  think  the  king  knows  what  it  is  to  be  a-cold  and 
hungry  ?" 

"  I  know  not,  boy — but  I  know  full  well  that  if  one  suffering 
like  you  were  before  him,  his  heart  would  yearn  to  relieve  him. 
Go,  go,  and  buy  yourself  food  too,  if  they  have  it." 

In  a  very  few  minutes  Lionel  saw  the  simpleton  issuing  from 
the  house  to  which  he  had  run  at  his  bidding,  with  the  desired 
lantern. 

"  Did  you  get  any  food  ?"  said  Lionel,  motioning  to  Job  to 
precede  him  with  the  light ;  "  I  trust  you  did  not  entirely  forget 
yourself  in  your  haste  to  serve  me." 

"  Job  hopes  he  didn't  catch  the  pestilence,"  returned  the  lad, 
eating  at  the  same  time  voraciously  of  a  small  roll  of  bread. 

"  Catch  what  ?  what  is  it  you  hope  you  did  not  catch  ?" 

"  The  pestilence — they  are  full  of  the  foul  disorder  in  that 
house." 

"  Do  you  mean  the  small-pox,  boy  ?" 

"  Yes  ;  some  call  it  small-pox,  and  some  call  it  the  foul  disor- 
der, and  other  some  the  pestilence.  The  king  can  keep  out  the 
trade,  but  he  can't  keep  out  the  cold  and  the  pestilence  from 
Boston ;  but  when  the  people  get  the  town  back,  they'll  know 
what  to  do  with  it — they'll  send  it  all  to  the  pest-housen !" 

"  I  hope  I  have  not  exposed  you  unwittingly  to  danger,  Job — 
it  would  have  been  better  had  I  gone  myself ;  for  I  was  inocu- 
lated for  the  terrible  disease  in  my  infancy." 

Job,  who,  in  expressing  his  sense  of  the  danger,  had  ex- 
hausted the  stores  of  his  feeble  mind  on  the  subject,  made  no  - 
reply,  but  continued  walking  through  the  square,  until  they 
reached  its  termination,  when  he  turned,  and  inquired  which 
way  he  was  to  go. 


298 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  To  the  cliurch,"  said  Lionel,  "  and  swiftly,  lad." 
'  As  they  entered  Corn-liill,  they  encountered  the  fury  of  the 
wind,  when  Major  Lincoln,  bowing  his  head,  and  gathering  his 
cloak  about  him,  followed  the  light  which  flitted  along  the  pave- 
ment in  his  front.  Shut  out  in  a  manner  from  the  world  by  this 
covering,  his  thoughts  returned  to  their  former  channel,  and  in 
a  few  moments  he  forgot  where  he  was,  or  whom  he  was  fol- 
lowing. He  was  soon  awakened  from  his  abstraction  by  per- 
ceiving that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  ascend  a  few  steps, 
when,  supposing  he  had  reached  the  place  of  destination,  he 
raised  his  head,  and  unthinkingly  followed  his  conductor  into 
the  tower  of  a  large  edifice.  Immediately  perceiving  his  mis- 
take, by  the  difference  of  the  architecture  from  that  of  the 
King's  Chapel,  he  reproved  the  lad  for  his  folly,  and  demanded 
why  he  had  brought  him  thither. 

"  This  is  what  you  call  a  church,"  said  Job,  "  though  I  call 
it  a  meetin'us'.  It's  no  wonder  you  don't  know  it — for  what 
the  people  built  for  a  temple,  the  king  has  turned  into  a 
stable  !" 

"  A  stable  !"  exclaimed  Lionel.  Perceiving  a  strong  smell  of 
horses  in  the  place,  he  advanced  and  threw  open  the  inner  door, 
when,  to  his  amazement,  he  perceived  that  he  stood  in  an  area 
fitted  for  the  exercises  of  the  cavalry.  There  was  no  mistaking 
the  place,  nor  its  uses.  The  naked  galleries,  and  many  of  the 
original  ornaments,  were  standing ;  but  the  accommodations 
below  were  destroyed,  and  in  their  places  the  floor  had  been 
covered  with  earth,  for  horses  and  their  riders  to  practise  in  the 
cavesson.  The  abominations  of  the  place  even  now  offended 
his  senses,  as  he  stood  on  that  spot  where  he  remembered  so 
often  to  have  seen  the  grave  and  pious  colonists  assemble,  in 
crowds,  to  worship.  Seizing  the  lantern  from  Job,  he  hurried 
out  of  the  building,  with  a  disgust  that  even  the  unobservant 
simpleton  had  no  difficulty  in  discovering.  On  reaching  the 
street,  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  lights,  and  on  the  silent  dignity  of 
the  Province  House,  and  he  was  compelled  to  recollect,  that 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


299 


tliis  wanton  violation  of  the  feelings  of  the  colonists  had  been 
practised  directly  under  the  windows  of  the  royal  governor. 

"  Fools,  fools  !"  he  muttered  bitterly  :  "  when  ye  should  have 
struck  like  men,  ye  have  trifled  as  children ;  and  ye  hav^e  for- 
gotten your  manhood,  and  even  your  God,  to  indulge  your  be- 
sotted spleen !" 

And  now  these  very  horses  are  starving  for  want  of  hay,  as 
a  judgment  upon  them  !"  said  Job,  who  shuffled  his  way  in- 
dustriously at  the  other's  side.  "  They  had  better  have  gone 
to  meetin'  themselves,  and  heard  the  expounding,  than  to  set 
dumb  beasts  a  rioting  in  a  place  that  the  Lord  used  to  visit  so 
often !" 

"  Tell  me,  boy,  of  what  other  act  of  folly  and  madness  has 
the  army  been  guilty  ?" 

"  What !  haven't  you  heard  of  the  Old  North  !  They've 
made  oven-wood  of  the  grandest  temple  in  the  Bay  !  If  they 
dared,  they'd  lay  their  ungodly  hands  on  old  Funnel  itself !" 

Lionel  made  no  reply.  He  had  heard  that  the  distresses  of 
the  garrison,  heightened  as  they  were  by  the  ceaseless  activity 
of  the  Americans,  had  compelled  them  to  convert  many  houses, 
as  well  as  the  church  in  question,  into  fuel.  But  he  saw  in  the 
act  nothing  more  than  the  usual  recourse  of  a  common  military 
exigency.  It  was  free  from  that  reckless  contempt  of  a  people's 
feelings,  which  was  exhibited  in  the  prostitution  of  the  ancient 
walls  of  the  sister  edifice,  which  was  known  throughout  New- 
England,  with  a  species  of  veneration,  as  the  "  Old  South."  He 
continued  his  way  gloomily  along  the  silent  streets,  until  he 
reached  the  more  favored  temple,  in  which  the  ritual  of  the 
English  church  was  observed,  and  whose  roof  was  rendered 
loubly  sacred,  in  the  eyes  of  the  garrison,  by  the  accidental 
circumstance  of  bearing  the  title  of  their  earthly  monarch. 


300. 


LIONEL  LINCOLS 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

"  Thou  art  too  like  the  spirit  of  Banquo ;  down !" 

Macbeth. 

Major  Lincoln  found  tlie  King's  Chapel  difFering  in  every 
particular  from  the  venerable,  but  prostituted  building  he  had 
just  quitted.  As  he  entered,  the  light  of  his  lantern  played 
over  the  rich  scarlet  covering  of  many  a  pew,  and  glanced  upon 
the  glittering  ornaments  of  the  polished  organ,  which  now 
slumbered  in  as  chilled  a  silence  as  the  dead,  which  lay  in  such 
multitudes  within  and  without  the  massive  walls.  The  labored 
columns,  with  their  slender  shafts  and  fretted  capitals,  threw 
shapeless  shadows  across  the  dim  background,  peopling  the 
galleries  and  ceiling  with  imaginary  phantoms  of  thin  air.  As 
this  slight  delusion  passed  away,  he  became  sensible  of  the 
change  in  the  temperature.  The  warmth  was  not  yet  dissipated, 
which  had  been  maintained  during  the  different  services  of  the 
day ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  wants  of  the  town  and  garrison, 
the  favored  temple,  where  the  representative  of  the  sovereign 
was  wont  to  worship,  knew  not  the  ordinary  privations  of  the 
place.  Job  was  directed  to  supply  the  dying  embers  of  the 
stoves  with  fresh  fuel,  and  as  the  simpleton  well  knew  where  to 
find  the  stores  of  the  church,  his  oflSce  was  performed  with  an 
alacrity  that  was  not  a  little  increased  by  his  own  sufferings. 

When  the  bustle  of  preparation  had  subsided,  Lionel  drew  a 
chair  from  the  chancel,  while  Job  crouched  by  the  side  of  the 
quivering  iron  he  had  heated,  in  that  attitude  he  was  wont  to 
assume,  and  which  so  touchingly  expressed  the  secret  conscious- 
nes&  he  felt  of  his  own  inferiority.    As  the  grateful  warmth  dif- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


301 


fused  itself  over  the  half-naked  frame  of  the  simpleton,  his  head 
sunk  upon  his  bosom,  and  he  was  fast  falling  into  a  slumber, 
like  a  worried  hound  that  had  at  length  found  ease  and  shelter. 
A  more  active  mind  would  have  wished  to  learn  the  reasons 
that  could  induce  his  companion  to  seek  such  an  asylum  at  that 
unseasonable  hour.  But  Job  was  a  stranger  to  curiosity ;  nor 
did  the  occasional  glimmerings  of  his  mind  often  extend  beyond 
those  holy  precepts  which  had  been  taught  him  with  such  care, 
before  disease  had  sapped  his  faculties,  or  those  popular  prin- 
ciples of  the  time,  that  formed  so  essential  a  portion  of  the 
thoughts  of  every  New  Englandman. 

Not  so  with  Major  Lincoln.  His  watch  told  him  that  many 
weary  minutes  must  elapse  before  he  could  expect  to  receive 
his  bride ;  and  he  disposed  himself  to  wait,  with  as  much  pa- 
tience'as  comported  with  five-and-twenty,  and  the  circumstances. 
In  a  short  time  the  stillness  ,of  the  chapel  was  restored,  inter- 
rupted only  by  the  passing  gusts  of  the  wind  without,  and  the 
dull  roaring  of  the  furnace,  by  whose  side  Job  slumbered  in  a 
state  of  happy  oblivion. 

Lionel  endeavored  to  still  his  truant  thoughts,  and  bring  them 
in  training  for  the  solemn  ceremony  in  which  he  was  soon  to  be 
an  actor.  Finding  the  task  too  difficult,  he  arose,  and  ap- 
proaching a  window,  looked  out  upon  the  solitude,  and  the 
whirlwinds  of  snow  that  drifted  through  the  streets,  eagerly 
listening  for  those  sounds  of  approach,  which  his  reason  told 
him  he  ought  not  yet  to  expect.  Again  he  seated  himself,  and 
turned  his  eyes  inquiringly  about  him,  with  a  sort  of  inward 
apprehension  that  some  one  lay  concealed,  in  the  surrounding 
gloom,  with  a  secret  desire  to  mar  his  approaching  happiness. 
There  was  so  much  of  wild  and  feverish  romance  in  the  inci- 
dents of  the  day,  that  he  found  it  difficult,  at  moments,  to  credit 
their  reahty,  and  had  recourse  to  hasty  glances  at  the  altar,  his 
attire,  and  even  his  insensible  companion,  to  remove  the  delu- 
sion from  his  mind.  Again  he  looked  upward  at  the  unsteady 
and  huge  shadows  which  wavered  along  the  ceiling  of  the  walls, 


302 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


and  his  former  apprehensions  of  some  hidden  evil  wei'e  revdved, 
with  a  vividness  that  amounted  nearly  to  a  presentiment.  So 
uneasy  did  he  become  at  length,  under  this  impression,  that  he 
walked  along  the  more  distant  aisles,  scrupulously  looking  into 
the  dark  pews,  and  throwing  a  scrutinizing  glance  behind  each 
column,  and  was  rewarded  for  his  trouble  by  hearing  the  hollow 
echoes  of  his  own  footsteps. 

In  returning  from  this  round,  he  approached  the  stove,  and 
yielded  to  a  strong  desire  of  listening  to  the  voice  of  even  Job, 
in  a  moment  of  such  morbid  excitement.  Touching  the  sim- 
pleton hghtly  with  his  foot,  the  other  awoke  with  that  readi- 
ness which  denoted  the  sudden  and  disturbed  nature  of  his  or- 
dinary rest. 

"  You  are  unusually  dull  to-night.  Job,"  said  Lionel,  en- 
deavoring to  hush  his  uneasiness  in  affected  pleasantry,  "  or  you 
would  inquire  the  reason  why  I  pay  my  visit  to  the  church  at 
this  extraordinary  hour." 

"  Boston  folks  love  their  meetin'us's,"  returned  the  obtuse 
simpleton. 

"  Ay  1  but  they  love  their  beds,  too,  fellow  ;  and  one  half  oi 
them  are  now  enjoying  what  you  seem  to  covet  so  much." 
"  Job  loves  to  eat,  and  be  warm  !" 

"  And  to  sleep  too,  if  one  may  judge  by  your  drowsiness." 
"  Yes,  sleep  is  sweet ;  Job  don't  feel  a-hungered  when  he's 
sleeping." 

Lionel  remained  silent  for  several  moments,  under  a  keen 
perception  of  the  suffering  exhibited  in  the  touching  helpless- 
ness w^hich  marked  the  manner  of  the  other,  before  he  con- 
tinued— 

"  But  I  expect  to  be  joined  soon  by  the  clergyman,  and  some 
ladies,  and  Captain  Polwarth." 

"Job  likes  Captain  Polwarth — he  keeps  a  grand  sight  of 
provisions  !" 

"  Enough  of  this  !  can  you  think  of  nothing  but  your  stom* 
ach,  boy?" 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


303 


"  God  made  hunger,"  said  Job,  gloomily,  "  and  he  made  food 
too ;  but  the  king  keeps  it  all  for  his  rake-hellies  !" 

"  Well,  hsten,  and  be  attentive  to  what  I  tell  you.  One  of 
the  ladies  who  will  come  here  is  Miss  Dynevor  ;  you  know  Miss 
Dynevor,  Job  ?  the  beautiful  Miss  Dynevor  !" 

The  charms  of  Cecil  had  not,  however,  made  their  wonted 
impression  on  the  dull  eye  of  the  idiot,  who  still  regarded  the 
speaker  with  his  customary  air  of  apathy. 

"  Surely,  Job,  you  know  Miss  Dynevor  !"  repeated  Lionel, 
with  an  irritability  that,  at  any  other  time,  he  would  have  been 
the  first  to  smile  at — "  she  has  often  given  you  money  and 
clothes." 

"  Yes ;  Ma'am  Lechmere  is  her  grandam  1" 

This  was  certainly  one  of  the  least  recommendations  his 
mistress  possessed  in  the  eyes  of  Lionel,  who  paused  a  moment, 
with  inward  vexation,  before  he  added — 

"  Let  who  will  be  her  relatives,  she  is  this  night  to  become 
my  wife.  You  will  remain  and  witness  the  ceremony,  and  then 
you  will  extinguish  the  lights,  and  return  the  key  of  the  church 
to  Dr.  Liturgy.    In  the  morning,  come  to  me  for  your  reward." 

The  changeling  arose,  with  an  air  of  singular  importance, 
and  answered — 

"  To  be  sure.  Major  Lincoln  is  to  be  married,  and  he  asks 
Job  to  the  wedding  !  Now,  Nab  may  preach  her  sarmons  about 
pride  and  flaunty  feelings  as  much  as  she  will ;  but  blood  is 
blood,  and  flesh  is  flesh,  for  all  her  sayings  1" 

Struck  by  the  expression  of  wild  meaning  that  gleamed  in 
the  eyes  of  the  simpleton.  Major  Lincoln  demanded  an  explana- 
tion of  his  ambiguous  language.  But  ere  Job  had  leisure  to 
reply,  though  his  vacant  lookvagain  denoted  that  his  thoughts 
were  already  contracting  themselves  within  their  usually  narrow 
limits,  a  sudden  noise  drew  the  attention  of  both  to  the  entrance 
of  the  chapel.  The  door  opened  in  the  next  instant,  and  the 
figure  of  the  divine,  powdered  with  drifted  snow,  and  encased  in 
various  defences  against  the  cold,  was  seen,  moving  with  a  be 


304 


LIONEL  LIKCOLN. 


coming  gravity,  tlirougli  tlie  principal  aisle.  Lionel  hastened 
to  receive  him,  and  to  conduct  him  to  the  seat  he  had  just  occu- 
pied himself. 

When  Dr.  Liturgy  had  uncloaked,  and  appeared  in  his  robes 
of  office,  the  benevolence  of  his  smile,  and  the  whole  expression 
of  his  countenance,  denoted  that  he  was  satisfied  with  the  con- 
dition in  which  he  found  the  preparations. 

"  There  is  no  reason  why  a  church  should  not  be  as  comfort- 
able as  a  man's  library,  Major  Lincoln,"  he  said,  hitching  his  seat 
a  little  nearer  to  the  stove.  "  It  is  a  puritanical  and  a  dissent- 
ing idea,  that  religion  has  any  thing  forbidding  or  gloomy  in  its 
nature ;  and  wherefore  should  we  assemble  amid  pains  and  in- 
convenience to  discharge  its  sacred  offices 

"  Quite  true,  sir,"  returned  Lionel,  looking  anxiously  through 
one  of  the  windows ;  "  I  have  not  yet  heard  the  hour  of  ten 
strike,  though  my  watch  tells  me  it  is  time  !" 

"  The  weather  renders  the  public  clocks  very  irregular. 
There  are  so  many  unavoidable  evils  to  which  flesh  is  heir,  that 
we  should  endeavor  to  be  happy  on  all  occasions — indeed  it  is 
a  duty—" 

"  It's  not  in  the  natur  of  sin  to  make  fallen  man  happy,"  said 
a  low,  growling  voice  from  behind  the  stove. 

"  Ha !  what !  did  you  speak.  Major  Lincoln — a  very  singular 
sentiment  for  a  bridegroom !"  muttered  the  divine. 

"  'Tis  that  weak  young  man,  whom  I  have  brought  hither  to 
assist  with  the  fires,  repeating  some  of  the  lore  of  his  mother ; 
nothing  else,  sir." 

By  this  time  Dr.  Liturgy  had  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  crouch- 
ing Job,  and  comprehending  the  interruption,  he  fell  back  in 
his  chair,  smiling  superciliously,  as  he  continued — 

"  I  know  the  lad,  sir  ;  I  should  know  him.    He  is  learned  in  • 
the  texts,  and  somewhat  given  to  disputation  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion.   'Tis  a  pity  the  little  intellect  he  has,  had  not  been 
better  managed  in  his  infancy ;  but  they  have  helped  to  crush 
his  feeble  mind  with  their  subtilties.    "We — I  mean  we  of  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


805 


established  churcli — often  style  him  the  Boston  Calvin — ha,  ha, 
ha  !  Old  Cotton  was  not  his  equal  in  subtilty  !  But  speaking 
of  the  establishment,  do  you  not  fancy  that  one  of  the  conse- 
quences of  this  rebelHon  will  be  to  extend  its  benefits  to  the 
colonies,  and  that  we  may  look  forward  to  the  period  when  the 
(rue  church  shall  possess  its  inheritance  in  these  religious  prov- 
inces ?" 

"  Oh,  most  certainly !"  said  Lionel,  again  walking  anxiously 
to  the  window ;  "  would  to  God  they  had  come  !" 

The  divine,  with  whom  weddings  were  matters  of  too  frequent 
occurrence  to  awaken  his  sympathies,  understood  the  impatient 
bridegroom  literally,  and  replied  accordingly — 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  say  it.  Major  Lincoln,  and  I  hope, 
when  the  act  of  amnesty  shall  be  passed,  to  find  your  vote  on 
the  side  of  such  a  condition." 

At  this  instant  Lionel  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  well-known 
sleigh,  moving  slowly  along  the  deserted  street,  and,  uttering  a 
cry  of  pleasure,  he  rushed  to  the  door  to  receive  his  bride.  Dr. 
Lirurgy  finished  his  sentence  to  himself,  and  rising  from  his 
comfortable  position,  he  took  the  light,  and  entered  the  chancel. 
The  disposition  of  the  candles  having  been  previously  made, 
when  tiiey  were  hghted,  his  book  opened,  his  robes  adjusted, 
and  his  features  settled  into  a  suitable  degree  of  solemnity,  he 
stood,  waiting  with  becoming  dignity  the  approach  of  those 
over  whom  he  was  to  pronounce  the  nuptial  benediction.  Job 
placed  himself  within  the  shadows  of  the  building,  and  stood 
regarding  the  attitude  and  imposing  aspect  of  the  priest,  with  a 
species  of  childish  awe. 

Then  came  a  group,  emei'ging  from  the  obscurity  of  the  dis- 
tant part  of  the  church,  and  moving  slowly  towards  the  altar. 
Cecil  was  in  front,  leaning  on  that  arm  which  Lionel  had  given 
her,  as  much  for  support,  as  through  courtesy.  She  had  re- 
moved her  outer  and  warmer  garments  in  the  vestibule  of  the 
sacred  edifice,  and  now  appeared,  attired  in  a  manner  as  well 
suited  to  the  suddenness  and  privacy,  as  to  the  importance  of 


306 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


the  ceremony.  A  mantle  of  satin,  trimmed  with  delicate  furs, 
fell  carelessly  from  her  shoulders,  partly  concealing  by  its  folds 
the  exquisite  proportions  of  her  slender  form.  Beneath  was  a 
vestment  of  the  same  rich  material,  cut  after  the  fashions  of 
that  period,  in  a  manner  to  give  the  exact  outlines  of  the  bust. 
Across  the  stomacher  were  deep  rows  of  fine  lace,  and  wide 
borders  of  the  same  valuable  texture  followed  the  retiring  edges 
of  her  robe,  leaving  the  costly  dress  within  partly  exposed  to 
the  eye.  But  the  beauty  and  simplicity  of  her  attire  (it  was 
simple  for  that  day)  was  lost,  or,  rather,  it  served  to  adorn,  un- 
noticed, the  melancholy  beauty  of  her  countenance. 

As  they  approached  the  expecting  priest,  Cecil  threw,  by  a 
gentle  movement,  her  mantle  on  the  rails  of  the  chancel,  and 
accompanied  Lionel  with  a  firmer  tread  than  before  to  the  foot 
of  the  altar.  Her  cheeks  were  pale ;  but  it  was  rather  with  a 
compelled  resolution  than  dread,  while  her  eyes  were  full  ot 
tenderness  and  thought.  Of  the  two  devotees  of  Hymen,  she 
exhibited,  if  not  the  most  composure,  certainly  the  most  single- 
ness of  purpose,  and  intentness  on  the  duty  before  them ;  for 
while  the  looks  of  Lionel  were  stealing  uneasily  about  the 
building,  as  if  he  expected  some  hidden  object  to  start  up  out 
of  the  darkness,  hers  w^ere  riveted  on  the  priest  in  sweet  and 
earnest  attention. 

They  paused  in  their  allotted  places  ;  and  after  a  moment  was 
allowed  for  Agnes  and  Polwarth,  who  alone  followed,  to  enter 
the  chancel,  the  low  but  deep  tones  of  the  minister  were  heard 
in  the  solemn  stillness  of  the  place. 

Dr.  Liturgy  had  borrowed  a  suitable  degree  of  inspiration 
from  the  dreariness  of  the  hour,  and  the  solitude  of  the  build- 
ing where  he  was  required  to  discharge  his  sacred  functions 
As  he  delivered  the  opening  exhortation  of  the  service,  he  made 
long  and  frequent  pauses  between  the  members  of  the  sentences, 
giving  to  each  injunction  a  distinct  and  impressive  emphasis. 
Put  when  he  came  to  those  closing  words — 

If  any  man  can  show  just  cause  why  -  hey  may  not  he  lam 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


SOT 


fully  joined  together^  let  him  noio  speak,  or  else,  hereafter,  for- 
ever hold  his  peace P 

He  lifted  his  voice,  and  raised  Ms  eyes  to  the  more  distant 
parts  of  the  chapel,  as  though  he  addressed  a  multitude  in  the 
gloom.  The  faces  of  all  present  involuntarily  followed  the 
direction  of  his  gaze,  and  a  moment  of  deep  expectation,  which 
can  only  be  explained  by  the  singularly  wild  character  of  the 
scene,  succeeded  the  reverberation  of  his  tones.  At  that  mo- 
ment, when  each  had  taken  breath,  and  all  were  again  turning 
to  the  altar,  a  huge  shadow  rose  upon  the  gallery,  and  extended 
itself  along  the  ceiling,  until  its  gigantic  proportions  were  seen 
hovering,  like  an  evil  spectre,  nearly  above  them. 

The  clergyman  suspended  the  half-uttered  sentence.  Cecil 
grasped  the  arm  of  Lionel  convulsively,  while  a  shudder  passed 
through  her  frame,  that  seemed  about  to  shake  it  to  dissolution. 

The  shadowy  image  then  slowly  withdrew,  not  without,  how- 
ever, throwing  out  a  fantastic  gesture,  with  an  arm  which 
stretched  itself  across  the  vaulted  roof,  and  down  the  walls,  as 
if  about  to  clutch  its  victims  beneath. 

If  any  man  can  show  just  cause  why  they  may  not  he  law- 
fully joined  together,  let  him  now  speah,  or  else,  hereafter,  for- 
ever hold  his  peace^''  repeated  the  priest  aloud,  as  if  he  would 
summon  the  universe  at  the  challenge. 

Again  the  shadow  rose,  presenting  this  time  the  strong  and 
huge  lineaments  of  a  human  face,  which  it  was  not  difficult,  at 
such  a  moment,  to  fancy  possessed  even  expression  and  life.  Its 
strongly  marked  features  seemed  to  work  with  powerful  emo- 
tion, and  the  lips  moved  as  if  the  airy  being  was  speaking  to 
unearthly  ears.  Next  came  two  arms,  raised  above  the  gazing 
group,  with  clasped  hands,  as  in  the  act  of  benediction,  after 
which  the  whole  vanished,  leaving  the  ceiling  in  its  own  dull 
white,  and  the  building  still  as  the  graves  which  surrounded  it. 

Once  more  the  excited  minister  uttered  the  summons ;  and 
again  every  eye  was  drawn,  as  by  a  secret  impulse,  to  a  spot 
which  seemed  to  possess  the  form,  without  the  substance,  of  a 


308 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


human  being.  But  the  shadow  was  seen  no  more.  Aftei 
waiting  several  moments  in  vain,  Dr.  Liturgy  proceeded,  with  a 
voice  in  which  a  growing  tremor  was  very  perceptible  ;  but  no 
further  interruption  was  experienced  to  the  end  of  the  service. 

Cecil  pronounced  her  vows,  and  plighted  her  troth,  in  tones 
of  holy  emotion  ;  while  Lionel,  who  was  prepared  for  some 
strange  calamity,  went  through  the  service  to  the  end,  with  a 
forced  calmness.  They  were  married ;  and  when  the  blessing 
was  uttered,  not  a  sound  nor  a  whisper  was  heard  in  the  party. 
Silently  they  all  turned  away  from  the  spot,  and  prepared  to 
leave  the  place.  Cecil  stood  passively,  and  permitted  Lionel  to 
wrap  her  form  in  the  folds  of  her  mantle  with  tender  care ;  and 
when  she  would  have  smiled  her  thanks  for  the  attention,  she 
merely  raised  her  anxious  eyes  to  the  ceiling,  with  an  expression 
that  could  not  be  mistaken.  Even  Polwarth  was  mute  ;  and 
Agnes  forgot  to  offer  those  congratulations  and  good  wishes, 
with  which  her  heart  had  so  recently  been  swelling. 

The  clergyman  uttered  a  few  words  of  caution  to  Job  con- 
cerning the  candles  and  the  fire,  and  hurried  after  the  retiring 
party  with  a  quickness  of  step  that  he  was  wilhng  to  ascribe  to 
the  lateness  of  the  hour,  and  with  a  total  disregard  to  the  safety 
of  the  edifice ;  leaving  the  chapel  to  the  possession  of  the  ill- 
gifted,  but  undisturbed  son  of  Abigail  Pray. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


309 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

"Forbear  to  judge,  for  we  are  sinners  all; 
Close  up  his  eyes,  and  draw  the  curtain  close ; 
And  let  us  all  to  meditation." 

King  Henry  VI. 


The  bridal  party  entered  their  little  vehicle  silent  and  tliought" 
ful ;  the  voice  of  Polwarth  being  alone  audible,  as  he  gave  a  few 
low  and  hurried  orders  to  the  groom  who  was  in  waiting.  Dr. 
Liturgy  approached  for  a  moment,  and  made  his  compliments, 
when  the  sleigh  darted  away  from  before  the  building,  as  swiftly 
as  if  the  horse  that  drew  it  partook  of  the  secret  uneasiness  of 
those  it  held.  The  movements  of  the  divine,  though  less  rapid, 
were  equally  diligent,  and  in  less  than  a  minute  the  winds 
whistled,  and  clouds  of  snow  wxre  driven  through  a  street  which 
every  thing  possessing  life  appeared  once  more  to  have  aban- 
doned. 

The  instant  Polwarth  had  discharged  his  load  at  the  door  of 
Mrs.  Lechmere,  he  muttered  something  of  "  happiness  and  to- 
morrow," which  his  friend  did  not  understand,  and  dashed 
through  the  gate  of  the  court-yard,  at  the  same  mad  rate  that 
he  had  driven  from  the  church.  On  entering  the  house,  Agnes 
repaired  to  the  room  of  her  aunt,  to  report  that  the  marriage 
knot  was  tied,  while  Lionel  led  his  silent  bride  into  the  empty 
parlor. 

Cecix  stood,  fixed  and  motionless  as  a  statue,  while  her  hus- 
band removed  her  cloak  and  mantle  ;  her  cheeks  pale,  her  eyes 
riveted  on  the  floor,  and  her  whole  attitude  and  manner  exhib- 
iting the  intensity  of  thought  which  had  been  created  by  the 
scene  w  which  she  had  just  been  an  actor.  When  he  had  re- 
lieved her  hght  form  from  the  load  of  garments  in  which  it  had 


310 


LIONEL  LIKCOLN. 


been  enveloped  by  his  care,  lie  impelled  ber  gently  to  a  seat  by 
bis  side,  on  tlie  settee,  and,  for  the  first  time  since  she  had  ut- 
tered the  final  vow  at  the  altar,  she  spoke — 

"  Was  it  a  fearful  omen  she  whispered,  as  he  folded  her  to 
his  heart,  "  or  was  it  no  more  than  a  horrid  fancy  ?" 

"'Twas  nothing,  love — 'twas  a  shadow — that  of  Job  Pray,  who 
was  with  me  to  light  the  fires." 

"No — no — no!"  said  Cecil,  speaking  with  the  rapidity  of  high 
excitement,  and  in  tones  that  gathered  strength  as  she  proceed- 
ed :  "  those  were  never  the  unmeaning  features  of  the  miserable 
simpleton !  Know  you,  Lincoln,  that  in  the  haughty,  the  terrific 
outlines  of  those  dreadful  lineaments  on  the  wall,  I  fancied  a  re- 
semblance to  the  profile  of  our  great-uncle,  your  father's  prede- 
cessor in  the  title — Dark  Sir  Lionel,  as  he  was  called." 

"  It  was  easy  to  fancy  any  thing,  at  such  a  time,  and  under 
such  circumstances.  Do  not  cloud  the  happiness  of  our  bridal 
by  these  gloomy  fancies." 

"  Am  I  gloomy  or  superstitious  by  habit,  Lionel  ?"  she  asked, 
with  a  deprecating  tenderness  in  her  voice,  that  touched  his  in- 
most heart.  "  But  it  came  at  such  a  moment,  and  in  such  a 
shape,  that  I  should  be  more  than  woman  not  to  tremble  at  its 
terrible  import  1" 

"  What  is  it  you  dread,  Cecil  ?  Are  we  not  married ;  law- 
fully, solemnly  united  ?" — The  bride  shuddered  ;  but  perceiving 
her  unwilling,  or  unable  to  answer,  he  continued — "  beyond  the 
power  of  man  to  sever  ;  and  with  the  consent,  nay,  by  the  earn- 
est wish,  the  command,  of  the  only  being  who  can  have  a  right 
to  express  a  wish,  or  have  an  opinion  on  the  subject  ?" 

"  I  believe — that  is,  I  think,  it  is  all  as  you  say,  Lionel,"  re- 
turned Cecil,  still  looking  about  her  with  a  vacant  and  distressed 
air,  that  curdled  his  blood ;  "  yes — yes,  we  are  certainly  mar- 
ried ;  and  oh !  how  ardently  do  I  implore  Him  who  sees  and 
governs  all  things,  that  our  union  may  be  blessed !  but — " 

"  But  what,  Cecil  ?  will  you  let  a  thing  of  naught — a  shadow 
' — affect  you  in  this  manner  ?" 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


311 


"  'Twas  a  shadow,  as  you  say,  Lincoln ;  but  where  was  the 
jubstance  ?" 

"  Cecil,  my  sensible,  my  good,  my  pious  Cecil,  why  do  your 
faculties  slumber  in  this  unaccountable  apathy  ?  Ask  your  own 
excellent  reason  :  can  there  be  a  shade  where  nothing  obstructs 
the  light  r 

"  I  know  not.  I  cannot  reason — I  have  not  reason.  All 
things  are  possible  to  Him,  whose  will  is  law,  and  whose  slight- 
est wish  shakes  the  universe.  There  was  a  shadow,  a  dark,  a 
speaking,  and  a  terrible  shadow ;  but  who  can  say,  where  was 
the  reality  V 

"  I  had  almost  answered,  with  the  phantom,  only  in  your  sen- 
sitiveTmagination,  love.  But  arouse  your  slumbering  powers, 
Cecil,  and  reflect  how  possible  it  was  for  some  curious  idler  ot 
the  garrison  to  have  watched  my  movements,  and  to  have 
secreted  himself  in  the  chapel;  perhaps  from  wanton  mischief 
— perhaps  without  motive  of  any  kind." 

"  He  then  chose  an  awful  moment  in  which  to  act  his  gam- 
bols !" 

"  It  may  have  been  one  whose  knowledge  was  just  equal  to 
giving  a  theatrical  efiect  to  his  silly  deception.  But  are  we  to 
be  cheated  of  our  happiness  by  such  weak  devices ;  or  to  be 
miserable  because  Boston  contains  a  fool 

"  I  may  be  weak,  and  silly,  and  even  impious  in  this  terror, 
Lincoln,"  she  said,  turning  her  softened  looks  upon  his  anxious 
face,  and  attempting  to  smile ;  "  but  it  is  assailing  a  woman  in  a 
point  where  she  is  most  sensitive. — You  know  that  I  have  no 
reserve  with  you,  now.  Marriage  with  us  is  the  tie  that '  binds 
all  charities  in  one,'  and  at  the  moment  when  the  heart  is  full 
of  its  own  security,  is  it  not  dreadful  to  have  such  mysterious 
presages,  be  they  true,  or  be  they  false,  answering  to  the  awful 
appeal  of  the  church  !" 

"  Nor  is  the  tie  less  binding,  less  important,  or  less  dear,  my 
own  Cecil,  to  us.  Believe  me,  whatever  the  pride  of  manhood 
may  say  of  high  destinies,  and  glorious  deeds,  the  same  afFec- 


312 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


tions  are  deeply  seated  in  our  nature,  and  must  be  sootlied  by 
those  we  love,  and  not  by  those  who  contribute  to  our  vanity. 
Why  then  permit  this  chill  to  bhght  your  best  affections  in 
their  budding  ?" 

There  was  so  much  that  was  soothing  to  the  anxiety  of  a 
bride,  in  his  sentiments,  and  so  much  of  tender  interest  in  his 
manner,  that  he  at  length  succeeded,  in  a  great  degree,  in  luring 
Cecil  from  her  feverish  apprehensions.  As  he  spoke  a  mantling 
bloom  diffused  itself  over  her  cold  and  pallid  cheeks,  and  when 
he  had  done,  her  eyes  hghted  with  the  glow  of  a  woman's  con- 
fidence, and  were  turned  on  his  ow^n  in  bright,  but  blushing 
pleasure.  She  repeated  his  word  *  chill,'  with  an  emphasis  and 
a  smile  that  could  not  be  misconstrued,  and  in  a  few  mfnutes 
he  entirely  succeeded  in  quelling  the  uneasy  presentiments  that 
had  gained  a  momentary  ascendency  over  her  clear  and  excel- 
lent faculties. 

But  notwithstanding  Major  Lincoln  reasoned  so  w^ell,  and 
with  so  much  success,  against  the  infirmity  of  his  bride,  he  was 
by  no  means  equal  to  maintain  as  just  an  argument  wdth  him- 
self The  morbid  sensibility  of  his  mind  had  been  awakened 
in  a  most  alarming  manner  by  the  occurrences  of  the  evening, 
though  his  warm  interest  in  the  happiness  of  Cecil  had  enabled 
him  to  smother  them,  so  long  as  he  witnessed  the  extent  and 
nature  of  her  apprehensions.  But,  exactly  in  the  proportion  as 
he  persuaded  her  into  forgetfulness  of  the  past,  his  recollections 
became  more  vivid  and  keen ;  and,  notwithstanding  his  art,  he 
might  not  have  been  able  to  conceal  the  workings  of  his  troubled 
thoughts  from  his  companion,  had  not  Agnes  appeared,  and  an- 
nounced the  desire  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  to  receive  the  bride  and 
bridegroom  in  her  sick-chamber. 

"  Come,  Lincoln,"  said  his  lovely  companion,  rising  at  the 
summons,  "  w^e  have  been  selfish  in  forgetting  how  strongly  my 
grandmother  sympathizes  in  our  good  or  evil  fortunes.  We 
should  have  discharged  this  duty  without  waiting  to  be  reminded 
of  it." 


LIONEL  LINCOLN 


313 


Without  making  any  other  reply  than  a  fond  pressure  of  the 
hand  he  held,  Lionel  drew  her  arm  through  his  own,  and  fol- 
lowed Agnes  into  the  little  hall  which  conducted  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  dwelling. 

"  You  know  the  way,  Major  Lincoln,"  said  Miss  Danforth  ; 
"  and  should  you  not,  my  lady  bride  can  show  you.  I  must  go 
and  cast  a  worldly  eye  on  the  little  banquet  I  have  ordered,  but 
which  I  fear  will  be  labor  thrown  away,  since  Captain  Polwarth 
has  disdained  to  exhibit  his  prowess  at  the  board.  Truly,  Major 
Lincoln,  I  marvel  that  a  man  of  so  much  substance  as  your 
friend,  should  be  frightened  from  his  stomach  by  a  shadow !" 

Cecil  even  laughed,  and  in  those  sweet  feminine  tones  that 
are  infectious,  at  the  humor  of  her  cousin ;  but  the  dark  and 
anxious  expression  that  gathered  round  the  brow  of  her  husband 
as  suddenly  checked  her  mirth. 

"  Let  us  ascend,  Lincoln,"  she  said,  instantly, "  and  leave  mad 
Agnes  to  her  household  cares,  and  her  folly." 

"  Ay,  go,"  cried  the  o4her,  turning  away  towards  the  supper- 
room — "  eating  and  drinking  is  not  ethereal  enough  for  your 
elevated  happiness ;  would  I  had  a  repast  worthy  of  such  senti- 
mental enjoyment !  Let  me  see — dew-drops  and  lovers'  tears, 
in  equal  quantities,  sweetened  by  Cupid's  smiles,  with  a  dish  of 
sighs,  drawn  by  moonlight,  for  piquancy,  as  Polwarth  would 
say,  would  flavor  a  bowl  to  their  tastes.  The  dew-drops  might 
be  difficult  to  procure,  at  this  inclement  season,  and  in  such  a 
night ;  but  if  sighs  and  tears  would  serve  alone,  poor  Boston  is 
just  now  rich  enough  in  materials  !" 

Lionel,  and  his  half-blushing,  half-smiling  companion,  heard 
the  dying  sounds  of  her  voice,  as  she  entered  the  distant  apart- 
ment, expressing,  by  its  tones,  the  mingled  pleasantry  and  spleen 
of  its  mistress,  and  in  the  next  instant  they  forgot  both  Agnes 
and  her  humor,  as  they  found  themselves  in  the  presence  of 
Mrs.  Lechmere. 

The  first  glance  of  his  eye  at  their  expecting  relative,  brought 
a  painful  throb  to  the  heart  of  Major  Lincoln.    Mrs.  Lechmere 

14 


314 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


had  caused  herself  to  be  raised  in  the  bed,  in  which  she  was 
seated  nearly  upright,  supported  by  pillows.  Her  wrinkled  and 
emaciated  cheeks  were  flushed  with  an  unnatural  color,  that 
contrasted  too  violently  with  the  marks  which  age  and  strong 
passions  had  impressed,  with  their  indelible  fingers,  on  the  sur- 
rounding wreck  of  those  haughty  features,  which  had  once  been 
distinguished  for  great,  if  not  attractive  beauty.  Her  hard  eyes 
had  lost  their  ordinary  expression  of  worldly  care,  in  a  bright- 
ness which  caused  them  rather  to  glare  than  to  beam  with 
flashes  of  unbridled  satisfaction  that  could  no  longer  be  repress- 
ed. In  short,  her  whole  appearance  brought  a  startling  convic- 
tion  to  the  mind  of  the  young  man,  that  whatever  might  have 
been  the  ardor  of  his  own  feelings  in  espousing  her  grandchild, 
he  had  at  length  realized  the  fondest  desires  of  a  being  so 
worldly,  so  designing,  and,  as  he  was  now  made  keenly  to  re- 
member, of  one  also,  who,  he  had  much  reason  to  apprehend, 
was  so  guilty.  The  invalid  did  not  seem  to  think  a  conceal- 
ment of  her  exultation  any  longer  necessary ;  for,  stretching  out 
her  arms,  she  called  to  her  child,  in  a  voice  raised  above  its 
natural  tones,  and  which  was  dissonant  and  harsh  from  a  sort  ot 
unholy  triumph — 

"  Come  to  my  arms,  my  pride,  my  hope,  my  dutiful,  my  de- 
serving daughter  !  Come  and  receive  a  parent's  blessing — that 
blessing  which  you  so  much  deserve  !" 

Even  Cecil,  warm  and  consoling  as  was  the  language  of  her 
grandmother,  hesitated  an  instant  at  the  unnatural  voice  in 
which  the  summons  was  uttered,  and  advanced  to  meet  her 
embrace  with  a  manner  less  warm  than  was  usual  to  her  own 
ardent  and  unsuspecting  nature.  This  secret  restraint  existed, 
however,  but  for  a  moment;  for  when  she  felt  the  encircling 
arms  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  pressing  her  warmly  to  her  aged  bo- 
som, she  looked  up  into  the  face  of  her  grandmother,  as  if  to 
thank  her  for  so  much  affection,  by  her  own  guileless  smiles  and 
tears. 

"  Here,  then,  Major  Lincoln,  you  possess  my  greatest,  I  had 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


315 


almost  said  my  only  treasm'e  !"  added  Mrs.  Leclimere.  "  She  ia 
a  good,  a  gentle,  and  dutiful  child ;  and  Heaven  will  bless  her 
for  it,  as  I  do."  Leaning  forward,  she  continued,  in  a  less  ex- 
cited voice — "  Kiss  me,  my  Cecil,  my  bride,  my  Lady  Lincoln  ! 
for  by  that  loved  title  I  may  now  call  you,  as  yours,  in  the  course 
of  nature,  it  soon  will  be." 

Cecil,  greatly  shocked  at  the  unguarded  exultation  of  her 
grandmother,  gently  withdrew  herself  from  her  arms,  and  with 
eyes  bent  to  the  floor  in  shame,  and  burning  cheeks,  she  will- 
ingly moved  aside,  to  allow  Lionel  to  approach,  and  receive  his 
share  of  the  congratulations.  He  stooped  to  bestow  the  cold 
and  reluctant  kiss  which  the  offered  cheek  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  in- 
vited, and  muttered  a  few  incoherent  words  concerning  his  pres- 
ent happiness,  and  the  obligation  she  had  conferred.  Notwith- 
standing the  high  and  disgusting  triumph  which  had  broken 
through  the  usually  cold  and  cautious  manner  of  the  invalid,  a 
powerful  and  unbidden  touch  of  nature  mingled  in  her  address 
to  the  bridegroom.  The  fiery  and  unnatural  glow  of  her  eyes 
even  softened  with  a  tear,  as  she  spoke — 

"  Lionel,  my  nephew,  my  son,"  she  said,  "  I  have  endeavored 
to  receive  you  in  a  manner  worthy  of  the  head  of  an  ancient 
and  honorable  name  ;  but  were  you  a  sovereign  prince,  I  have 
now  done  my  last  and  best  in  your  favor.  Cherish  her — love 
her — ^be  more  than  husband — be  all  of  kin  to  the  precious 
child,  for  she  merits  all !  Now  is,  my  latest  wish  fulfilled ! 
Now  may  I  prepare  myself  for  the  last  great  change,  in  the 
quiet  of  a  long  and  tranquil  evening  to  the  weary  and  trouble- 
some day  of  life  !" 

"  Woman!"  said  a  tremulous  voice  in  the  background,  "thou 
deceivest  thyself!" 

"  Who,"  exclaimed  Mrs.  Lechmere,  raising  her  body  with  a 
convulsive  start,  as  if  about  to  leap  from  the  bed — "  who  is  it 
Bpeaks  ?" 

"  'Tis  I,"  returned  the  well-remembered  tones  of  Ralph,  as  he 
advanced  from  the  door  to  the  foot  of  her  couch — "  'tis  I, 


310 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Priscilla  Lechmere ;  one  who  knows  tliy  merits  and  thy 
doom  1" 

The  appalled  woman  fell  back  on  her  pillows,  gasping  for 
breath,  the  flush  of  her  cheeks  giving  place  to  their  former 
signs  of  age  and  disease,  and  her  eye  losing  its  high  exultation 
in  the  glazed  look  of  sudden  terror.  It  would  seem,  however, 
that  a  single  moment  of  reflection  was  sufiicient  to  restore  her 
spirit,  and  with  it  all  her  deep  resentments.  She  motioned  the 
intruder  away,  by  a  violent  gesture  of  the  hand,  and  after  an 
eflbrt  to  command  her  utterance,  she  said,  in  a  voice  rendered 
doubly  strong  by  overwhelming  passion — 

"  Why  am  I  braved,  at  such  a  moment,  in  the  privacy  of  my 
sick-chamber  ?  Have  that  madman,  or  impostor,  whichever  he 
may  be,  removed  from  my  presence 

She  uttered  her  request  to  deadened  ears.  Lionel  neither 
moved  nor  answered.  His  whole  attention  was  given  to  Ralph, 
across  whose  hollow  features  a  smile  of  calm  indifference  passed, 
which  denoted  how  little  he  regarded  the  threatened  violence. 
Even  Cecil,  who  clung  to  the  arm  of  Lionel,  with  all  a  woman's 
dependence  on  him  she  loved,  was  unnoticed  by  the  latter,  in 
the  absorbing  interest  he  took  in  the  sudden  reappearance  of  one 
whose  singular  and  mysterious  character  had,  long  since,  raised 
such  hopes  and  fears  in  his  own  bosom. 

"  Your  doors  will  shortly  be  open  to  all  who  may  choose  to 
visit  here,"  the  old  man  coldly  answered.  "  Why  should  I  be 
driven  from  a  dwelling  where  heartless  crowds  shall  so  soon 
enter  and  depart  at  will  ?  Am  I  not  old  enough ;  or  do  I  not 
(  bear  enough  of  the  aspect  of  the  grave,  to  become  your  com- 
panion ?  Priscilla  Lechmere,  you  have  lived  till  the  bloom  of 
your  cheeks  has  given  place  to  the  color  of  the  dead ;  your  dim- 
ples have  become  furrowed  and  wrinkled  lines  ;  and  the  beams 
of  your  once  bright  eye  have  altered  to  the  dull  look  of  care — 
but  you  have  not  yet  lived  for  repentance." 

"  What  manner  of  language  is  this  ?"  cried  his  wondering 
listener,  inwardly  shrinking  before  his  steady,  but  glowing  look. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


317 


^  Why  am  I  singled  from  the  world  for  this  persecution  ?  Km 
my  sins  past  "bearing ;  or  am  I  alone  to  be  reminded  that  sooner 
or  later  age  and  death  will  come  ?  I  have  long  known  the  in- 
firmities of  life,  and  may  truly  say  that  I  am  prepared  for  their 
final  consequences." 

"  'Tis  well,"  returned  the  unmoved  and  apparently  immovable 
intruder.  "  Take,  then,  and  read  the  solemn  decree  of  thy 
God ;  and  may  He  grant  thee  firmness  to  justify  so  much  confi- 
dence." 

As  he  spoke,  he  extended,  in  his  withered  hand,  an  open  let- 
ter towards  Mrs.  Lechmere,  which  the  quick  glance  of  Lionel 
told  him  bore  his  own  name  in  the  superscription.  JSTotwith- 
standing  the  gross  invasion  of  his  rights,  the  young  man  was 
passive  under  the  detection  of  this  second  and  gross  interference 
of  the  other  in  his  most  secret  matters,  watching  with  eager  in- 
terest the  effect  the  strange  communication  would  produce  on 
his  aunt. 

Mrs.  Lechmere  took  the  letter  from  the  stranger  with  a  sort 
of  charmed  submission,  which  denoted  how  completely  his  sol- 
emn manner  had  bent  her  to  his  will.  The  instant  her  look  fell 
on  the  contents,  it  became  fixed  and  wild.  The  note  was,  how- 
ever, short,  and  the  scrutiny  v/as  soon  ended.  Still  she  grasped 
it  with  an  extended  arm,  though  the  vacant  expression  of  her 
countenance  betrayed  that  it  was  held  before  an  insensible  eye. 
A  moment  of  silent  and  breathless  wonder  followed.  It  was 
succeeded  by  a  shudder  which  passed  through  the  whole  frame 
of  the  invalid,  her  limbs  shaking  violently,  until  the  ratthng  of 
the  folds  of  the  paper  was  audible  in  the  most  distant  corner  of 
the  apartment. 

"  This  bears  my  name,"  cried  Lionel,  shocked  at  her  emo- 
tions, and  taking  the  paper  from  her  unresisting  hands,  "  and 
should  first  have  met  my  eye." 

"  Aloud — aloud,  dear  Lionel !"  said  a  faint  but  earnest  whis- 
per at  his  elbow  :  "  aloud,  I  implore  you,  aloud  !" 

It  was  not,  perhaps,  so  much  in  compliance  with  this  aflfecting 


318 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


appeal,  in  wMch  tlie  whole  soul  of  Cecil  seemed  wrapped,  as  by 
yielding  to  the  overwhelming  flow  of  that  excitement  to  which 
he  had  been  aroused,  that  Major  Lincoln  was  led  to  conform  to 
her  request.  In  a  voice  rendered  desperately  calm  by  his  emo- 
tions, he  uttered  the  fatal  contents  of  the  note,  in  tones  so  dis- 
tinct, that  they  sounded  to  his  wife,  in  the  stillness  of  the  place, 
like  the  prophetic  warnings  of  one  from  the  dead  : 

"  The  state  of  the  town  has  prevented  that  close  attention  to 
the  case  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  which  her  injuries  rendered  neces- 
sary. An  inward  mortification  has  taken  place,  and  her  present 
ease  is  only  the  forerunner  of  her  death.  I  feel  it  my  duty  to 
say,  that  though  she  may  live  many  hours,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  she  will  die  to-night." 

To  this  short,  but  terrible  annunciation,  was  placed  the  well- 
known  signature  of  the  attending  physician.  Here  was  a  sud- 
den change,  indeed !  All  had  thought  that  the  disease  had 
given  way,  when  it  seemed  it  had  been  preying  insidiously  on 
the  vitals  of  the  sick.  Dropping  the  note,  Lionel  exclaimed 
aloud,  in  the  suddenness  of  his  surprise — 

"  Die  to-night  !  This  is  an  unexpected  summons,  in- 
deed !" 

The  miserable  woman,  after  the  first  nerveless  moment  of  her 
dismay,  turned  her  looks  anxiously  from  face  to  face,  and  listen- 
ed intently  to  the  words  of  the  note,  as  they  fell  from  the  lips 
of  Lionel,  like  one  eager  to  detect  the  ghmmerings  of  hope  in 
the  alarmed  expression  of  their  countenances.  But  the  lan- 
guage of  her  physician  was  too  plain,  direct,  and  positive,  to  be 
misunderstood  or  perverted.  Its  very  coldness  gave  it  a  terrific 
character  of  truth.  * 

"  Do  you,  then,  credit  it  ?"  she  asked,  in  a  voice  whose  husky 
tones  betrayed  but  too  plainly  her  abject  unwillingness  to  be 
assured.  "  You  !  Lionel  Lincoln,  whom  I  had  thought  my 
friend  ?" 

Lionel  turned  away  silently  from  the  sad  spectacle  of  her 
misery ;  but  Cecil  dropped  on  her  knees  at  the  bedside,  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


319 


clasping  her  hands,  she  elevated  them,  looking  like  a  beautifa 
picture  of  pious  hope,  as  she  murmured — 

"  He  is  no  friend,  dearest  grandmother,  who  would  lay  flattery 
to  a  parting  soul !  But  there  is  a  better  and  a  safer  dependence 
than  all  this  world  can  offer 

"  And  you,  too  1"  cried  the  devoted  woman,  rousing  herself 
with  a  strength  and  energy  that  would  seem  to  put  the  profes- 
sional knowledge  of  her  medical  attendant  at  defiance — "  do 
you  also  abandon  me  ?  you,  whom  I  have  watched  in  infancy, 
nursed  in  suffering,  fondled  in  happiness,  ay  !  and  reared  in  vir- 
tue—yes, that  I  can  say  boldly  in  the  face  of  the  universe  ! — 
you,  whom  I  have  brought  to  this  honorable  marriage — would 
you  repay  me  for  all,  by  black  ingratitude  f 

"  My  grandmother  !  my  grandmother  !  talk  not  thus  cruelly 
to  your  child  ! — but  lean  on  the  Kock  of  Ages  for  support,  even 
as  I  have  leaned  on  thee  1" 

"  Away — away — weak,  foolish  child  !  Excess  of  happiness 
has  maddened  thee  !  Come  hither,  my  son ;  let  us  speak  of  Ra- 
venscliffe,  the  proud  seat  of  our  ancestors ;  and  of  those  daya 
we  are  yet  to  pass  under  its  hospitable  roofs.  The  silly  girl 
thou  hast  v/ived  would  wish  to  frighten  me  !" 

Lionel  shuddered  with  inward  horror  while  he  listened  to 
the  forced  and  broken  intonations  of  her  voice,  as  she  thus  ut- 
tered the  lingering  wishes  of  her  nature.  He  turned  again 
from  the  view,  and,  for  a  moment,  buried  his  face  in  his  hands, 
as  if  to  exclude  the  v/orld  and  its  wickedness,  together,  from  his 
sight. 

"  My  grandmother,  look  not  so  wildly  at  us  1"  continued  the 
gasping  Cecil ;  "  you  may  have  yet  hours,  nay,  days,  before 
you."  She  paused  an  instant  to  follow  the  unsettled  and  hope- 
less gaze  of  an  eye  that  gleamed  despairingly  on  the  objects  of 
the  room,  and  then,  with  a  meek  dependence  on  her  own  pu- 
rity, dropping  her  face  between  her  hands,  she  cried  aloud  in 
her  agony — 

"  My  mother's  mother  !  would  that  I  could  die  for  thee  I" 


320 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Die  !"  echoed  tlie  same  dissonant  voice  as  before,  from  a 
throat  that  ah'eady  began  to  rattle  with  the  hastened  ap- 
proaches of  death — "  who  would  die  amid  the  festivities  of  a 
bridal ! — Away — leave  me. — To  thy  closet,  and  thy  knees,  if 
thou  wilt— but  leave  me  !" 

She  watched,  with  bitter  resentment,  the  retiring  form  of 
Cecil,  who  obeyed  with  the  charitable  and  pious  intention  of 
complying  literally  with  her  grandmother's  order,  before  she 
added — 

"  The  girl  is  not  equal  to  the  task  I  had  set  her !  All 
of  my  race  have  been  weak,  but  I — my  daughter — my  hus- 
band's niece — " 

"  What  of  that  niece  said  the  startling  voice  of  Ralph,  in- 
terrupting the  diseased  wanderings  of  her  mind — "  that  wife  of 
thy  nephew — the  mother  of  this  youth  ?  Speak,  woman,  while 
time  and  reason  are  granted  thee." 

Lionel  now  advanced  to  her  bedside,  under  an  impulse  that 
he  could  no  longer  subdue,  and  addressed  her  solemnly — 

"  If  thou  knowest  aught  of  the  dreadful  calamity  that  has 
befallen  my  family,"  he  said,  "  or  in  any  manner  hast  been  ac- 
cessary to  its  cause,  disburden  thy  soul,  and  die  in  peace.  Sis- 
ter of  my  grandfather !  nay,  more,  mother  of  my  wife  !  I  con- 
jure thee,  speak — what  of  my  injured  mother  ?" 

"  Sister  of  thy  grandfather — mother  of  thy  wife,"  repeated 
Mrs.  Lechmere,  slowly,  and  in  a  manner  that  sufficiently  indi- 
cated the  unsettled  state  of  her  thoughts — "  Yes,  both  are  true  1" 

"  Speak  to  me,  then,  of  my  mother,  if  you  acknowledge  the 
ties  of  blood — tell  me  of  her  dark  fate  !" 

"  She  is  in  her  grave — dead — rotten — yes — yes — her  boasted 
beauty  has  been  fed  upon  by  beastly  worms  !  What  more 
would  ye  have,  mad  boy  ?  Wouldst  wish  to  see  her  bones  in 
their  windinor-sheet  ?" 

o 

The  truth  !"  cried  Ealph  ;  "  declare  the  truth,  and  thy  own 
•;v'^cked  agency  in  the  deed  !" 

"  Who  speaks  ?"  repeated  Mrs.  Lechmere.  dropping  her  voice 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


321 


from  its  notes  of  high  excitement  again,  to  tlie  tremulous  ca- 
dency of  debility  and  age,  and  looking  about  her  at  the  same 
time,  as  if  a  sudden  remembrance  had  crossed  her  brain; 
"  surely  I  heard  sounds  I  should  know  !" 

"  Here ;  look  on  me — fix  thy  wandering  eye,  if  it  yet  has 
power  to  see,  on  me,"  cried  Ralph,  aloud,  as  though  he  would 
command  her  attention  at  every  hazard — 'tis  I  that  speak  to 
thee,  Priscilla  Lechmere." 

"  What  wouldst  thou  have  ?  My  daughter  ?  She  is  in  her 
grave  !  Her  child  ?  She  is  wedded  to  another. — Thou  art  too 
late  !  Thou  art  too  late  !  "Would  to  God  thou  hadst  asked  her 
of  me  in  season — " 

"  The  truth — the  truth— the  truth  1" — continued  the  old  man, 
in  a  voice  that  rung  through  the  apartment  in  wild  and  start- 
ling echoes — "  the  holy  and  undefiled  truth  !  Give  us  that,  and 
naught  else." 

This  singular  and  solemn  appeal  awakened  the  latest  energies 
of  the  despairing  w^oman,  whose  inmost  soul  appeared  to  recoiJ 
before  his  cries.  She  made  an  effort  to  raise  herself  once  more, 
and  exclaimed — 

"  Who  says  that  I  am  dying  ?  I  am  but  seventy !  and  'tis 
only  yesterday  I  was  a  child — a  pure,  an  un contaminated  child  ! 
He  lies — he  lies  !  I  have  no  mortification — I  am  strong,  and 
have  years  to  live  and  repent  in." 

In  the  pauses  of  her  utterance,  the  voice  of  the  old  man  wau 
still  heard  shouting — 

"  The  truth— the  truth —the  holy,  undefiled  truth !" 
Let  me  rise  and  look  upon  the  sun,"  continued  the  dying 
woman.  "  Where  are  ye  all  ?  Cecil,  Lionel — my  children,  do 
ye  desert  me  now  ?  Why  do  ye  darken  the  room  ?  Give  me 
light — more  light — more  light !  for  the  sake  of  all  in  heaven 
and  earth,  abandon  me  not  to  this  black  and  terrible  darkness  !" 

Her  aspect  had  become  so  hideously  despairing,  that  the  voice 
of  even  Ralph  was  stilled,  and  she  continued  uninterruptedly  to 
shriek  out  the  ravings  of  her  soul. 


322 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Why  talk  to  such,  as  I  of  death  ? — My  time  has  been  too 
short ! — give  me  days — give  me  hours — give  me,  moments  ! 
Cecil — Agnes — Abigail :  where  are  ye  ? — help  me,  or  I  fall  1" 

She  raised  herself,  by  a  desperate  effort,  from  the  pillows,  and 
clutched  wildly  at  the  empty  air.  Meeting  the  extended  hand 
of  Lionel,  she  caught  it  with  a  dying  grasp,  gave  a  ghastly 
smile,  under  the  false  security  it  imparted,  and  falling  backward 
again,  her  mortal  part  settled,  with  a  universal  shudder,  into  a 
state  of  eternal  rest. 

As  the  horrid  exclamations  of  the  deceased  ended,  so  deep  a 
stillness  succeeded  in  the  apartment,  that  the  passing  gusts  of 
the  gale  were  heard  sighing  among  the  roofs  of  the  town,  and 
might  easily  be  mistaken,  at  such  a  moment,  for  the  moaningis 
of  un  embodied  spirits  over  so  accursed  an  end. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


323 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

I  wonder,  sir,  since  wives  are  monstrous  to  yon, 
And  that  you  fly  them,  as  you  swear  them,  lordship. 
Yet,  you  desire  to  marry." 

All's  well  that  ends  well. 


Cecil  had  left  tlie  room  of  her  grandmother,  with  the  con- 
sciousness of  sustaining  a  load  of  anguish,  to  which  her  young 
experience  had  hitherto  left  her  a  stranger.  On  her  knees,  and 
in  the  privacy  of  her  closet,  she  poured  out  the  aspirations  of 
her  pure  spirit,  in  fervent  petitions  to  that  Power,  which  she, 
who  most  needed  its  support,  had  so  long  braved  by  the 
mockery  of  respect,  and  the  seemliness  of  devotion.  "With  her 
soul  elevated  by  its  recent  communion  with  her  God,  and  her 
feelings  soothed  even  to  calmness  by  the  sacred  glow  that  was 
shed  around  them,  the  youthful  bride  at  length  prepared  to  re- 
sume her  post  at  the  bedside  of  her  aged  relative. 

In  passing  from  her  own  room  to  that  of  Mrs.  Lechmere,  she 
heard  the  busy  voice  of  Agnes  below,  together  with  the  sounds 
of  the  preparations  that  were  making  to  grace  her  own  hasty 
bridal,  and  for  a  moment  she  paused  to  assure  herself  that  all 
which  had  so  recently  passed,  was  more  than  the  workings  of  a 
disturbed  fancy.  She  gazed  at  the  unusual,  though  modest  or- 
naments of  her  attire  ;  shuddered  as  she  remembered  the  awful 
omen  of  the  shadow ;  and  then  came  to  the  dreadful  reality 
with  an  overwhelming  conviction  of  its  truth.  After  laying  her 
hand  on  the  door,  she  paused,  with  secret  terror,  to  catch  the 
sounds  that  might  issue  from  the  chamber  of  the  sick.  After 
listening  a  moment,  the  bustle  below  was  hushed,  and  she,  too, 
heard  the  whistling  of  the  wind,  as  its  echoes  died  away  among 


324 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


the  chimneys  and  angles  of  the  building.  Encouraged  by  the 
death-like  stillness  of  those  within  her  grandmother's  room, 
Cecil  now  opened  the  door,  under  the  pleasing  impression  that 
she  should  find  the  resignation  of  a  Christian,  where  she  had  so 
lately  witnessed  the  incipient  ravings  of  despair.  Her  entrance 
was  timid ;  for  she  dreaded  to  meet  the  hollow,  but  glaring 
eye  of  the  nameless  being  who  had  borne  the  message  of  the 
physician,  and  of  whose  mien  and  language  she  retained  a  con- 
fused but  fearful  recollection.  Her  hesitation  and  her  fears 
were,  however,  alike  vain  ;  for  the  room  was  silent  and  tenant- 
less.  Casting  one  wondering  look  around,  in  quest  of  the 
form  most  dear  to  her,  Cecil  advanced  with  a  light  step  to 
the  bed,  and  raising  the  coverlet,  discovered  the  fatal  truth  at  a 
glance. 

The  lineaments  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  had  already  stiffened,  and 
assumed  that  cadaverous  and  ghastly  expression,  which  marks 
the  touch  of  death.  The  parting  soul  had  left  the  impression 
of  its  agony  on  her  features,  exhibiting  the  wreck  of  those  pas- 
sions which  caused  her,  even  in  death,  to  look  backward  on  that 
world  she  was  leaving  forever,  instead  of  forward  to  the  un- 
known existence,  towards  which  she  was  hurried.  Perhaps  the 
suddenness,  and  the  very  weight  of  the  shock,  sustained  the 
cheerless  bride  in  that  moment  of  trial.  She  neither  spoke  nor 
moved  for  more  than  a  minute  ;  but  remained  with  her  eyes 
riveted  on  the  desolation  of  that  countenance  she  had  revered 
from  her  infancy,  with  a  species  of  holy  awe  that  was  not  en- 
tirely free  from  horror.  Then  came  the  recollection  of  the  por- 
tentous omens  of  her  wedding,  and  with  it  a  dread  that  the 
heaviest  of  her  misfortunes  were  yet  in  reserve.  She  dropped 
the  covering  on  the  pallid  features  of  the  dead,  and  quitted  the 
apartment  with  a  hurried  step.  The  room  of  Lionel  was  on  the 
same  floor  with  that  which  she  had  just  left,  and  before  she  had 
time  for  reflection,  her  hand  was  on  its  lock.  Her  brain  was 
bewildered  with  the  rush  of  circumstances.  For  a  single  in- 
stant she  paused  with  maiden  bashfulness,  even  recoiling  m 


LIONEL  LIKCOLN. 


325 


b'3nsitive  shame  from  the  act  she  was  about  to  commit,  when  all 
hear  fears,  mingled  with  glimmerings  of  the  truth,  flashed  again 
across  her  mind,  and  she  burst  into  the  room,  uttering  the  name 
of  him  she  sought,  aloud. 

The  brands  of  a  fallen  fire  had  been  carefully  raked  together, 
and  were  burning  with  a  feeble  and  wavering  flame.  The  room 
seemed  filled  with  a  cold  air,  which,  as  she  encountered  it,  chilled 
the  delicate  person  of  Cecil ;  and  flickering  shadows  were  playing 
on  the  walls,  with  the  uncertain  movements  imparted  by  the 
unsteady  light.  But,  like  the  apartment  of  the  dead,  the  room 
was  still  and  empty.  Perceiving  that  the  door  of  the  little 
dressing-room  was  open,  she  rushed  to  its  threshold,  and  the 
mystery  of  the  cold  air,  and  the  waveiing  fire  was  explained, 
when  she  felt  the  gusts  of  wind  rush  by  her  from  the  open  door 
at  the  foot  of  the  narrow  stairs.  If  Cecil  had  ever  been  required 
to  explain  the  feelings  which  induced  her  to  descend,  or  the 
manner  in  which  it  was  effected,  she  would  have  been  unable  to 
comply ;  for,  quick  as  thought,  she  stood  on  the  threshold  of  the 
outer  door,  nearly  unconscious  of  her  situation. 

The  moon  was  still  wading  among  the  driving  clouds,  shed- 
ding just  light  enough  to  make  the  spectator  sensible  of  the 
stillness  of  the  camp  and  town.  The  easterly  wind  yet  howled 
along  the  streets,  occasionally  hfting  whirlwinds  of  snow,  and 
wrapping  whole  squares  in  its  dim  wreaths.  But  neither  man 
nor  beast  was  visible  amid  the  dreariness. 

The  bewildered  bride  shrunk  from  the  dismal  view,  with  a 
keen  perception  of  its  wild  consonance  with  the  death  of  her 
grandmother.  In  another  moment  she  was  again  in  the  room 
above,  each  part  of  which  was  examined  with  maddening  anx- 
iety for  the  person  of  her  husband.  But  her  powers,  excited 
and  unnatural  as  they  had  become,  could  support  her  no  longer. 
She  was  forced  to  yield  to  the  impression  that  Lionel  had  de 
serted  her  in  the  most  trying  moment,  and  it  was  not  strange 
that  she  coupled  the  sinister  omens  of  the  night  with  his  mys- 
terious absence.    The  heart-stricken  girl  clasped  her  hands  in 


326 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


anguish,  and  shrieking  the  name  of  her  cousin,  sunk  on  the 
floor  in  total  insensibility. 

Agnes  was  busily  and  happily  employed  with  her  domestics, 
in  preparing  such  a  display  of  the  wealth  of  the  Lechmeres  as 
should  not  disgrace  her  cousin  in  the  eyes  of  her  more  wealthy 
lord  and  master.  The  piercing  cry,  however,  notwithstanding 
the  bustle  of  hurrying  servants,  and.  the  clatter  of  knives  and 
plates,  penetrated  to  the  supper-room,  stilling  each  movement, 
and  blanching  every  cheek. 

"  'Tis  my  name  !"  said  Agnes ;  "  who  is  it  calls  ?" 

"  If  it  was  possible^''  returned  Meriton,  with  a  suitable  em- 
phasis, "  that  Master  Lionel's  bride  could  scream  so,  I  should  say 
it  was  my  lady's  voice  !" 

"  'Tis  Cecil — 'tis  Cecil !"  cried  Agnes,  darting  from  the  room. 
"  Oh,  I  feared — I  feared  these  hasty  nuptials  !" 

There  was  a  general  rush  of  the  menials  into  the  chambers, 
when  the  fatal  truth  became  immediately  known  to  the  whole 
family.  The  lifeless  clay  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  was  discovered  in 
its  ghastly  deformity,  and,  to  all  but  Agnes,  it  afforded  a  suffi- 
cient solution  of  the  situation  of  the  bride. 

More  than  an  hour  passed  before  the  utmost  care  of  her  attend- 
ants succeeded  in  restoring  Cecil  to  a  state  in  which  questions 
might  avail  any  thing.  Then  her  cousin  took  advantage  of  the 
temporary  absence  of  her  women,  to  mention  the  name  of  her 
husband.  Cecil  heard  her  with  sudden  joy ;  but  looking  about 
the  room  wildly,  as  if  seeking  him  with  her  eyes,  she  pressed  her 
hands  upon  her  heart,  and  fell  backward  in  that  state  of  insen- 
sibility, from  which  she  had  just  been  roused.  No  part  of  this 
expressive  evidence  of  her  grief  was  lost  on  the  other,  who  left 
the  room  the  instant  her  care  had  succeeded  in  bringing  the 
sufferer  once  more  to  her  recollection. 

Agnes  Danforth  had  never  regarded  her  aunt  with  that  con- 
tiding  veneration  and  love  which  purified  the  affections  of  the 
granddaughter  of  the  deceased.  She  had  always  possessed  her 
more  immediate  relatives,  from  whom  she  derived  her  feelings 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


827 


and  opinions,  nor  was  she  wanting  in  sufficient  discernment  to 
distinguish  the  cold  and  selfish  traits  that  had  so  particularly 
marked  the  character  of  Mrs.  Lechmere.  She  had,  therefore, 
consented  to  mortify  her  own  spirit,  and  submit  to  the  priva- 
tions and  dangers  of  the  siege,  entirely  from  a  disinterested  at- 
tachment to  her  cousin,  who,  without  her  presence,  would  have 
found  her  solitude  and  situation  irksome. 

In  consequence  of  this  disposition  of  her  mind,  Agnes  was 
more  shocked  than  distressed  by  the  unexpected  death  that  had 
occurred.  Perhaps,  if  her  anxiety  had  been  less  roused  in  be- 
half of  Cecil,  she  might  have  retired  to  weep  over  the  departure 
of  one  she  had  known  so  long,  and  of  one,  also,  that,  in  the 
sincerity  of  her  heart,  she  believed  so  little  prepared  for  the 
mighty  change.  As  it  was,  however,  she  took  her  way  calmly 
to  the  parlor,  where  she  summoned  Meriton  to  her  presence. 

"When  the  valet  made  his  €fntrance,  she  assumed  the  appear- 
ance of  a  composure  that  was  far  from  her  feelings,  and  desired 
him  to  seek  his  master,  with  a  request  that  he  would  give  Miss 
Danforth  a  short  interview,  without  delay.  During  the  time 
Meriton  was  absent  on  this  errand,  Agnes  endeavored  to  collect 
her  thoughts  for  any  emergency. 

Minute  passed  after  minute,  however,  and  the  valet  did  not 
return.  She  arose,  and  stepping  lightly  to  the  door,  listened, 
and  thought  she  heard  his  footsteps  moving  about  in  the  more 
distant  parts  of  the  building,  with  a  quickness  that  proved  he 
conducted  the  search  in  good  faith.  At  length  she  heard  them 
nigher,  and  it  was  soon  certain  he  was  on  his  return.  Agnes 
seated  herself,  as  before,  and  with  an  air  that  seemed  as  if  she 
expected  to  receive  the  master  instead  of  the  man.  Meriton, 
however,  returned  alone. 

"  Major  Lincoln,"  she  said,  "  you  desired  him  to  meet  me 
here  V 

The  whole  countenance  of  Meriton  expressed  his  amazement, 
as  he  answered — 

"  Lord !  Miss  Agnus,  Master  Lionel  has  gone  out !  gone  out 


328 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


on  such  a  night !  and  what  is  more  remarkable,  he  has  gone 
out  without  his  mourning ;  though  the  dead  of  his  own  blood 
and  connections  lies  unburied  in  the  house !" 

Agnes  preserved  her  composure,  and  gladly  led  the  valet  on 
in  the  path  his  thoughts  had  taken,  in  order  to  come  at  the 
truth,  without  betraying  her  own  apprehensions. 

"  How  know  you,  Mr.  Meriton,  that  your  master  has  been  so 
far  forgetful  of  appearances  V 

"  As  certain,  ma'am,  as  I  know  that  he  wore  his  parade  uni- 
form this  evening  when  he  left  the  house  the  first  time ;  though 
little  did  I  dream  his  honor  was  going  to  get  married  !  If  he 
hasn't  gone  out  in  the  same  dress,  where  is  it  ?  Besides, 
ma.'am,  his  last  mourning  is  under  lock,  and  here  is  the  key  in 
my  pocket." 

"  'Tis  singular  he  should  choose  such  an  hour,  as  well  as  the 
time  of  his  marriage,  to  absent  himself !" 

Meriton  had  long  learned  to  identify  all  his  interests  with 
those  of  his  master,  and  he  colored  highly  under  the  oblique 
imputation  that  he  thought  was  no  less  cast  on  Lionel's  gallantry, 
than  on  his  sense  of  propriety  in  general. 

"  Why,  Miss  Agnus,  you  will  please  remember,  ma'am,"  he 
answered,  "  as  this  wedding  hasn't  been  at  all  like  an  English 
wedding — nor  can  I  say  that  it  is  altogether  usual  to  die  in 
England  as  suddenly  as  Ma'am  Lechmere  has  been  pleased — " 

"  Perhaps,"  interrupted  Agnes,  "  some  accident  may  have 
happened  to  him.  Surely  no  man  of  common  humanity  would 
willingly  be  away  at  such  a  moment." 

The  feelings  of  Meriton  now  took  another  direction,  and  he 
unhesitatingly  adopted  the  worst  apprehensions  of  the  young 
lady. 

Agnes  leaned  her  forehead  on  her  hand  for  a  minute  in  deep 
reflection  before  she  spoke  again,  then,  raising  her  eyes  to  the 
valet,  she  said — 

"  Mr.  Meriton,  know  you  where  Captain  Polwarth  sleeps  V 
"  Certainly,  ma'am  !    He's  a  gentleman  as  always  sleeps  in 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


329 


his  own  bed,  unless  the  king's  service  calls  him  elsewhere.  A 
considerate  gentleman  is  Captain  Pohvarth,  ma'am,  in  respect  of 
himself." 

Miss  Danforth  bit  her  lip,  and  her  playful  eye  lighted  for  an 
instant,  with  a  ray  that  banished  its  look  of  sadness  ;  but  in  an- 
other moment  her  features  became  demure,  if  not  melancholy, 
and  she  continued — 

"  I  believe,  then — 'tis  awkward  and  distressing,  too,  but  noth- 
ing better  can  be  done." 

"  Did  you  please  to  give  me  any  orders.  Miss  Agnus  ?" 

"  Yes,  Meriton ;  you  will  go  to  the  lodgings  of  Captain  Pol- 
warth,  and  tell  him  Mrs.  Lincoln  desires  his  immediate  presence 
here,  in  Tremont-street." 

"  My  lady !"  repeated  the  amazed  valet :  "  why.  Miss  Agnus, 
the  women  says  as  my  lady  is  unconscionable,  and  does  not 
know  what  is  doing,  or  who  speaks  to  her !  A  mournful  wed- 
ding, ma'am,  for  the  heir  of  our  house  !" 

"  Then  tell  him,"  said  Agnes,  as  she  arose  to  leave  the  room, 
that  Miss  Danforth  would  be  glad  to  see  him." 

Meriton  w^aited  no  longer  than  was  necessary  to  mutter  his 
approbation  of  this  alteration  in  the  message,  when  he  left  the 
house,  with  a  pace  that  was  a  good  deal  quickened  by  his  grow- 
ing fears  on  the  subject  of  his  master's  safety.  Notwithstanding 
his  apprehensions,  the  valet  was  by  no  means  insensible  to  the 
severity  of  the  climate  he  was  in,  nor  to  the  peculiar  qualities 
of  that  night,  in  which  he  was  so  unexpectedly  thrust  abroad  to 
encounter  its  fury.  He  soon  succeeded,  however,  in  making  his 
way  to  the  quarters  of  Polwarth,  in  the  midst  of  the  driving 
snow,  and  in  defiance  of  the  cold  that  chilled  his  very  bones. 
Happily  for  the  patience  of  the  worthy  valet,  Shearflint,  the 
semi-military  attendant  of  the  captain,  was  yet  up,  having  just 
discharged  his  nightly  duties  about  the  person  of  his  master, 
who  had  not  deemed  it  prudent  to  seek  his  pillow  without  prov- 
ing the  consolations  of  the  trencher.  The  door  was  opened  at 
the  first  tap  of  Meriton,  and  when  the  other  had  expressed  hig 


330 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


surprise  by  the  usual  exclamations,  tlie  two  attendants  adjourned 
to  tlie  sitting-room,  where  the  embers  of  a  good  wood-fire  were 
yet  shedding  a  grateful  heat  in  the  apartment. 

"  What  a  shocking  country  is  this  America  for  cold,  Mr. 
Shearflint !"  said  Meriton,  kicking  the  brands  together  with  his 
boots,  and  rubbing  his  hands  over  the  coals.  "  I  doesn't  think 
as  our  English  cold  is  at  all  like  it.  It's  a  stronger  and  a  better 
cold,  is  ours,  but  it  doesn't  cut  one  like  dull  razors,  as  this  here 
of  America." 

Shearflint,  who  fancied  himself  particularly  liberal,  and  ever 
made  it  a  point  to  show  his  magnanimity  to  his  enemies,  never 
speaking  of  the  colonists  without  a  sort  of  protecting  air,  that 
he  intended  should  reflect  largely  on  his  own  candor,  briskly 
replied — 

"  This  is  a  new  country,  Mr.  Meriton,  and  one  shouldn't  be 
over-nice.  When  one  goes  abroad,  one  must  learn  to  put  up 
with  difficulties  ;  especially  in  the  colonies,  where  it  can't  be 
expected  all  things  should  be  as  comfortable  as  we  has  'em  at 
'ome." 

"  Well,  now,  I  call  myself  a  little  particular  in  respect  of 
weather,"  returned  Meriton,  "  as  any  going.  But  give  me  Eng- 
land for  climate,  if  for  nothing  else.  The  water  comes  down 
in  that  blessed  country  in  good,  honest  drops,  and  not  in 
little  frozen  bits,  which  prick  one's  face  like  so  many  fine 
needles !" 

"  You  do  look,  Mr.  Meriton,  a  httle  as  if  you  had  been  shak- 
ing your  master's  powder-puff*  about  your  own  ears.  But  I 
was  just  finishing  the  heel-tap  of  the  captain's  hot  toddy  ;  per- 
haps if  you  was  to  taste  it,  'twould  help  to  thaw  out  the 
idears." 

"  God  bless  me,  Shearflint !"  said  Meriton,  relinquishing  his 
grasp  of  the  tankard,  to  take  breath  after  a  most  vigorous 
draught—"  do  you  always  stuff  his  night-cap  so  thick  ?" 

"  No — no  :  the  captain  can  tell  a  mixture  by  his  nose,  and  it 
doesn't  do  to  make  partial  alterations  in  his  glass,"  returned 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


331 


Shearflint,  giving  the  tankard  a  circular  motion  to  stir  its  con- 
tents, while  lie  spoke,  and  swallowing  the  trifle  that  remained, 
apparently  at  a  gulp.  "  Then,  as  I  thinks  it  a  pity  that  any 
thing  should  be  wasted  in  these  distressing  times,  I  generally 
drinks  what's  left,  after  adding  sum'at  to  the  water,  just  to  mel- 
low it  down.  But  what  brings  you  -abroad  such  a  foul  night, 
Mr.  Meriton  ?" 

"  Sure  enough,  my  idears  wanted  thawing,  as  you  instigated, 
Shearflint !  Here  have  I  been  sent  on  a  message  of  life  and 
death,  and  I  was  forgetting  my  errand  like  a  raw  boy  just  hired 
from  the  country  !" 

"  Something  is  stirring,  then  !"  said  the  other,  ofiering  a 
chair,  which  his  companion  received,  without  any  words,  while 
Polwarth's  man  took  another,  with  equal  composure.  "  I 
thought  as  much,  from  the  captain's  hungry  appearance,  when 
he  came  home  to-night,  after  dressing  himself  with  so  much  care, 
to  take  his  supper  in  Tremont-street." 

"  Something  has  been  stirring,  indeed  !  For  one  thing,  it  is 
certain.  Master  Lionel  was  married  to-night,  in  the  Eng's 
Chapel !" 

"  Married  1"  echoed  the  other.  "  Well,  thank  Heaven,  no 
such  unavoidables  has  befallen  us,  though  we  have  been  ampu- 
trated.  I  couldn't  live  with  a  married  gentleman,  no  how,  Mr. 
Meriton.  A  master  in  breeches  is  enough  for  me,  without  one 
in  petticoats  to  set  him  on  !" 

"  That  depends  altogether  on  people's  conditions,  Shearflint," 
returned  Meriton,  with  a  sort  of  condescending  air  of  condo- 
lence, as  though  he  pitied  the  other's  poverty.  "  It  would  be 
great  folly  for  a  captain  of  foot,  that  is  nothing  hut  a  captain  of 
foot,  to  unite  in  Hymen.  But,  as  we  say  at  Ravensclifle  and 
Soho,  Cupid  will  listen  to  the  siyths  of  the  heir  of  a  Devonshire 
baronet,  with  fifteen  thousand  a  year." 

"  I  never  heard  any  one  say  it  was  more  than  ten,"  inter- 
rupted the  other,  with  a  strong  taint  of  ill-humor  in  his 
manner. 


332 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Not  more  than  ten !  I  can  count  ten  myself,  and  I  am  sure 
there  must  be  some  tliat  I  doesn't  know  of." 

"  Well,  if  it  be  twenty,"  cried  Shearflint,  rising,  and  kick- 
ing the  brands  among  the  ashes,  in  a  manner  to  destroy  all 
the  cheerfulness  of  the  httle  fire  that  remained,  "it  won't 
help  you  to  do  your  errand.  You  should  remember  that 
us  servants  of  poor  captains  have  nobody  to  help  us  with  our 
work,  and  want  our  natural  rest.  What's  your  pleasure,  Mr. 
Meriton  ?" 

"  To  see  your  master.  Mister  Shearflint." 

"  That's  impossibility !  he's  under  five  blankets,  and  I  wouldn't 
lift  the  thinnest  of  them  for  a  month's  wages." 

"  Then  I  shall  do  it  for  you,  because  speak  to  him  I  must. 
Is  he  in  this  room  ?" 

"  Ay,  you'll  find  him  somewhere  there,  among  the  bed- 
clothes," returned  Shearflint,  throwing  open  the  door  of  an  ad- 
joining apartment,  secretly  hoping  Meriton  would  get  his  head 
broken  for  his  trouble,  as  he  removed  himself  out  of  harm's  way, 
by  returning  to  the  fireplace. 

Meriton  was  compelled  to  give  the  captain  several  rough 
shakes  before  he  succeeded  in  rousing  him,  in  the  least,  from 
his  deep  slumbers.  Then,  indeed,  he  overheard  the  sleeper 
muttering — 

"  A  damn'd  foolish  business,  that !  Had  we  made  proper  use 
of  our  limbs,  we  might  have  kept  them.  You  take  this  man  to 
be  your  husband — better  for  worse — richer  or  poorer — ha!  who 
are  you  rolling,  dog  ?  Have  you  no.  regard  to  digestion,  to  shake 
a  man  in  this  manner,  just  after  eating  ?" 

"  It's  I,  sir— Meriton." 

"  And  what  the  devil  do  you  mean  by  this  liberty,  Mr.  I,  or 
Meriton,  or  whatever  you  call  yourself?" 

"  I  am  sent  for  you  in  a  great  hurry,  sir — awful  things  have 
happened  to-night  up  in  Tremont — " 

"  Happened  !"  repeated  Polwarth,  who  by  this  time  was  thor- 
oughly awake.    "  I  know,  fellow,  that  your  master  is  mariied — 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


r  gave  the  bride  away  myself.  I  suppose  nothing  else,  that  is 
particularly  extraordinary,  has  happened  f 

"  Oh  !  Lord,  yes,  sir :  my  lady  is  in  fainting-fits,  and  Master  Li- 
onel has  gone,God  knows  whither,  and  Madam  Lechmere  is  dead  1" 

Meriton  had  not  concluded,  before  Polwarth  sprang  from  his 
bed  in  the  best  manner  he  was  able,  and  began  to  dress  himself, 
by  a  sort  of  instinct,  though  without  any  definite  object.  By 
the  unfortunate  arrangement  of  Meriton's  intelhgence,  he  sup- 
posed the  death  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  to  be  in  consequence  of  some 
strange  and  mysterious  separation  of  the  bride  from  her  hus- 
band, and  his  busy  thoughts  did  not  fail  to  recall  the  singular 
interruption  of  the  nuptials,  so  often  mentioned. 

"  And  Miss  Danforth,"  he  asked — "  how  does  she  bear  it  ?" 

"  Like  a  woman,  as  she  is,  and  a  true  lady.  It  is  no  small 
thing  as  puts  Miss  Agnus  beside  herself,  sir !" 

"  No,  that  it  is  not !  she  is  much  more  apt  to  drive  others  mad.'* 

"  'Twas  she,  sir,  as  sent  me  to  desire  you  to  come  up  to  Tre- 
mont-street  without  any  delay." 

"  The  devil  it  was  1  Hand  me  that  boot,  my  good  fellow. 
One  boot,  thank  God,  is  sooner  put  on  than  two  !  The  vest  and 
stock  next.  You,  Shearflint !  where  have  you  got  to,  sirrah  ? 
Bring  me  my  leg,  this  instant  1" 

As  soon  as  his  own  man  heard  this  order,  he  made  his  ap- 
pearance ;  and  as  he  was  much  more  conversant  with  the  mys- 
tery of  his  master's  toilet  than  Meriton,  the  captain  was  soon 
equipped  for  his  sudden  expedition. 

During  the  time  he  was  dressing,  he  continued  to  put  hasty 
questions  to  Meriton,  concerning  the  cause  of  the  disturbance 
in  Tremont-street,  the  answers  to  which  only  served  to  throw 
him  more  upon  the  ocean  of  uncertainty  than  ever.  The 
instant  he  was  clad,  he  wrapped  himself  in  his  cloak,  and, 
taking  the  arm  of  the  valet,  he  essayed  to  find  his  way  through 
the  tempest  to  the  spot  where  he  was  told  Agnes  Danforth 
awaited  his  appearance,  with  a  chivalry  that,  in  another  age, 
and  under  different  circumstances,  would  have  made  him  a  hero. 


3S4 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

**  Proud  lineage  I  now  how  little  thou  appearest  1" 

BLAii;, 

NoTWiTHSTANDiNa  the  unusual  alacrity  with  which  Polwarta 
obeyed  the  unexpected  summons  of  the  capricious  being  whose 
favor  he  had  so  long  courted  with  so  little  apparent  success,  he 
lingered  in  his  steps  as  he  approached  near  enough  to  the  house 
in  Tremont-street  to  witness  the  glancing  lights  which  flitted 
before  the  windows.  On  the  threshold  he  stopped,  and  listened 
to  the  opening  and  shutting  of  doors,  and  all  those  marked  and 
yet  stifled  sounds,  which  are  wont  to  succeed  a  visit  of  the  grim 
monarch  to  the  dwellings  of  the  sick.  His  rap  was  unanswered, 
and  he  v/as  compelled  to  order  Meriton  to  show  him  into  the 
little  parlor  where  he  had  so  often  been  a  guest,  under  more 
propitious  circumstances.  Here  he  found  Agnes,  awaiting  his 
appearance  with  a  gravity,  if  not  sadness  of  demeanor,  that  in- 
stantly put  to  flight  certain  complimentary  efiusions,  with  which 
the  captain  had  determined  to  open  the  interview,  in  order  to 
follow  up,  in  the  true  temper  of  a  soldier,  the  small  advantage 
he  conceived  he  had  obtained  in  the  good  opinion  of  his  mis- 
tress. Altering  the  exulting  expression  of  his  features,  with  his 
first  glance  at  the  countenance  of  Miss  Danforth,  Polwarth  paid 
his  compliments  in  a  manner  better  suited  to  the  state  of  the 
family,  and  desired  to  know  if  in  any  manner  he  could  contribute 
to  their  comfort  or  relief. 

"  Death  has  been  among  us,  Captain  Polwarth,"  said  Agnes, 
"  and  his  visit  has,  indeed,  been  sudden  and  unexpected.  To 
add  to  our  embarrassment.  Major  Lin/^o^n  is  missing  !" 

As  she  concluded,  Agnes  fastened  her  eyes  on  the  face  of  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


835 


oilier,  as  though  she  would  require  an  explanation  of  the  unac- 
countable absence  of  the  bridegroom. 

"  Lionel  Lincoln  is  not  a  man  to  fly  because  death  ap- 
proaches," returned  the  captain,  musing ;  "  and  less  should  I 
suspect  him  of  deserting,  in  her  distress,  one  like  the  lovely 
creature  he  has  married.  Perhaps  he  has  gone  in  quest  of  med- 
ical aid  ?" 

"  It  cannot  be.  I  have  gathered  from  the  broken  sentences 
of  Cecil,  that  he,  and  some  third  person  to  me  unknown,  were 
last  with  mj  aunt,  and  must  have  been  present  at  her  death ; 
for  the  face  was  covered.  I  found  the  bride  in  the  room  which 
Lionel  has  lately  occupied- — the  doors  open,  and  with  indications 
that  he  and  his  unknown  companion  had  left  the  house  by  the 
private  stairs  which  communicate  with  the  western  door.  As 
my  cousin  speaks  but  little,  all  other  clue  to  the  movements  of 
her  husband  is  lost,  unless  this  ornament,  which  I  found  glitter- 
ing among  the  embers  of  the  fire,  may  serve  for  such  a  purpose. 
It  is,  I  believe,  a  soldier's  gorget." 

"  It  is,  indeed ;  and  it  would  seem  the  wearer  has  been  in 
Bome  jeopardy,  by  this  bullet-hole  through  its  centre.  By 
heavens! — 'tis  that  of  M'Fuse! — Here  is  the  18th  engraved; 
and  I  know  these  little  marks,  which  the  poor  fellow  was  ac- 
customed to  make  on  it  at  every  battle  ;  for  he  never  failed  to 
wear  the  bauble.   The  last  was  the  saddest  record  of  them  all !" 

"  In  what  manner,  then,  could  it  be  conveyed  into  the  apart- 
ment of  Major  Lincoln  ?    Is  it  possible  that — " 

"  In  what  manner,  truly !"  interrupted  Polwarth,  rising  in 
his  agitation,  and  beginning  to  pace  the  room,  in  the  best 
manner  his  mutilated  condition  would  allow — Poor  Dennis ! 
that  I  should  find  such  a  relic  of  thy  end  at  last !  You  did  not 
know  Dennis,  I  believe.  He  was  a  man,  fair  Agnes,  every  way 
adapted  by  nature  for  a  soldier.  His  was  the  form  of  Hercules ! 
the  heart  of  a  lion,  and -the  digestion  of  an  ostrich !  But  he 
could  not  master  this  cruel  lead !  He  is  dead,  poor  fellow,  he 
is  dead !" 


336 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Still  you  find  no  clue  in  the  gorget  by  wliich  to  trace  the 
livinsj     demanded  A^rnes. 

"  Ha  !"  exclaimed  Polwarth,  starting — "  I  think  I  begin  to 
see  into  the  mystery  !  The  fellow  who  could  slay  the  man  with 
whom  he  had  eaten  and  drunk,  might  easily  rob  the  dead ! 
You  found  the  gorget  near  the  fire  of  Major  Lincoln's  room,  say 
you,  fair  Agnes  ?" 

"  In  the  embers,  as  if  cast  there  for  concealment,  or  dropped 
in  some  sudden  strait." 

"I  have  it — I  have  it!"  returned  Polwarth,  striking  his 
hands  together,  and  speaking  through  his  teeth — "  'twas  that  dog 
who  murdered  him,  and  justice  shall  now  take  its  swing :  fool 
or  no  fool,  he  shall  be  hung  up  like  jerked  beef,  to  dry  in  the 
winds  of  heaven  I" 

Of  whom  speak  you,  Polwarth,  with  that  threatening  air  ?" 
inquired  Agnes,  in  a  soothing  voice,  of  which,  like  the  rest  of 
her  sex,  she  well  knew  not  only  the  power,  but  when  to  exer- 
cise it. 

"Of  a  canting,  hypocritical  miscreant,  who  is  called  Job 
Pray — a  fellow  with  no  more  conscience  than  brains,  nor  any 
more  brains  than  honesty.  An  ungainly  villain ;  who  will  eat 
of  your  table  to-day,  and  put  the  same  knife  that  administered 
to  his  hunger  to  your  throat  to-morrow !  It  was  such  a  dog 
that  butchered  the  glory  of  Erin  1" 

"  It  must  have  been  in  open  battle,  then,"  said  Agnes,  "  for 
though  wanting  in  reason.  Job  has  been  reared  in  the  knowledge 
of  good  and  evil.  The  child  must  be  strongly  stamped  with 
the  wrath  of  God,  indeed,  for  whom  some  effort  is  not  made 
by  a  Boston  mother,  to  recover  his  part  in  the  great  atone- 
ment." 

"  He,  then,  is  an  exception  ;  for  surely  no  Christain  will  join 
you  in  the  great  natural  pursuit  of  eating  at  one  moment,  and 
turn  his  fangs  on  a  comrade  at  the  next." 

"  But  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  absent  bridegroom  ?" 
It  proves  that  Job  Pray  has  been  in  his  room  since  the  fire 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


337 


was  replenislied,  or  some  other  than  you  would  have  found  the 
gorget." 

"  It  proves  a  singular  association,  truly,  between  Major  Lin- 
coln and  the  simpleton,"  said  Agnes,  musing ;  "  but  still  it 
throws  no  light  on  his  disappearance.  'Twas  an  old  man  that 
my  cousin  mentioned  in  her  unconnected  sentences !" 

"  My  life  on  it,  fair  Agnes,  that  if  Major  Lincoln  has  left  the 
house  mysteriously  to-night,  it  is  under  the  guidance  of  that 
wretch  ! — I  have  known  them  together  in  council  more  than 
once,  before  this." 

"  Then,  if  he  be  weak  enough  to  forsake  such  a  woman  as 
my  cousin,  at  the  instigation  of  a  fool,  he  is  unworthy  of  an- 
other thought !" 

Agnes  colored  as  she  spoke,  and  tm'ned  the  conversation 
with  a  manner  that  denoted  how  deeply  she  resented  the  slight 
to  Cecil. 

The  peculiar  situation  of  the  town,  and  the  absence  of  all  her 
own  male  relatives,  soon  induced  Miss  Danforth  to  hsten  to  the 
reiterated  offers  of  service  from  the  captain,  and  finally  to  ac- 
cept them.  Their  conference  was  long  and  confidential;  nor 
did  Polwarth  retire  until  his  footsteps  were  assisted  by  the  dull 
light  of  the  approaching  day.  When  he  left  the  house  to  re- 
turn to  his  own  quarters,  no  tidings  had  been  heard  of  Lionel, 
whose  intentional  absence  was  now  so  certain,  that  the  captain 
proceeded  to  give  his  orders  for  the  funeral  of  the  deceased, 
without  any  further  delay.  He  had  canvassed  with  Agnes  the 
propriety  of  every  arrangement  so  fully,  that  he  was  at  no  loss 
how  to  conduct  himself.  It  had  been  determined  between  them 
that  the  state  of  the  siege,  as  well  as  certain  indications  of  move- 
ments which  were  already  making  in  the  garrison,  rendered  it 
inexpedient  to  delay  the  obsequies  a  moment  longer  that  was 
required  by  the  unavoidable  preparations. 

Accordingly,  the  Lechmere  vault,  in  the  churchyard  of  the 
*  King's  Chapel,'  was  directed  to  be  opened,  and  the  vain  trap- 
pings, in  which  the  dead  are  usually  enshrouded,  were  provided, 

15 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


The  same  clergyman,  who  had  so  lately  pronounced  the  nuptial 
benediction  over  the  child,  was  now  required  to  perform  the 
last  melancholy  offices  of  the  church  over  the  parent,  and  the 
invitations  to  the  few  friends  of  the  family  who  remained  in  the 
place  were  duly  issued  in  suitable  form. 

By  the  time  the  sun  had  fallen  near  the  amphitheatre  of  hills, 
along  whose  crests  were,  here  and  there,  to  be  seen  the  works 
of  the  indefatigable  men  who  held  the  place  in  leaguer,  the 
brief  preparations  for  the  interment  of  the  deceased  were  com- 
pleted. The  prophetical  words  of  Ealph  were  now  fulfilled, 
and,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  province,  the  doors  of  one 
of  its  proudest  dwellings  were  thown  open  for  all  those  who 
chose  to  enter  and  depart  at  will.  The  funeral  train,  though 
respectable,  was  far  from  extending  to  that  display  of  solemn 
countenances  which  Boston,  in  its  peace  and  pride,  would  not 
have  failed  to  exhibit  on  any  similar  occasion.  A  few  of  the 
oldest  and  most  respected  of  the  inhabitants,  who  were  distantly 
connected  by  blood  or  alliances  with  the  deceased,  attended ; 
but  there  had  been  nothing  in  the  cold  and  selfish  character  of 
Mrs.  Lechmere  to  gather  the  poor  and  dependent  in  sorrowing 
groups  around  her  funeral  rites.  The  passage  of  the  body,  from 
its  late  dwelling  to  the  tomb,  was  quiet,  decent,  and  impressive, 
but  entirely  without  any  demonstrations  of  grief.  Cecil  had 
buried  herself  and  her  sorrows,  together,  in  the  privacy  of  her 
own  room,  and  none  of  the  more  distant  relatives  who  had  col- 
lected, male  or  female,  appeared  to  find  it  at  all  difiicult  to 
restrain  their  feelings  within  the  bounds  of  the  most  rigid  de- 
corum. 

Dr.  Liturgy  received  the  body,  as  usual,  on  the  threshold  of 
the  sacred  edifice,  and  the  same  solemn  and  affecting  language 
was  uttered  over  the  dead,  as  if  she  had  departed  soothed  by 
the  most  cheerful  visions  of  an  assured  faith.  As  the  service 
proceeded,  the  citizens  clustered  about  the  coffin,  in  deep  atten- 
tion, in  admiration  of  the  unwonted  tremor  and  solemnity  that 
had  crept  into  the  voice  of  the  priest. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


339 


AmoDg  this  little  collection  of  tlie  inhabitants  of  the  colony 
were  interspersed  a  few  men  in  the  military  dress,  who,  having 
known  the  family  of  the  deceased  in  more  settled  times,  had 
not  forgotten  to  pay  the  last  tribute  to  the  memory  of  one  of 
its  dead. 

When  the  short  service  was  ended,  the  body  was  raised  on 
the  shoulders  of  the  attendants,  and  borne  into  the  yard,  to  its 
place  of  final  rest.  At  such  a  funeral,  where  few  mourned,  and 
none  wept,  no  unnecessary  delay  would  be  made  in  disposing 
of  the  melancholy  relics  of  mortality.  In  a  very  few  moments, 
the  narrow  tenement,  which  contained  the  festering  remains  of 
one  who  had  so  lately  harbored  such  floods  of  human  passion, 
was  lowered  from  the  light  of  day,  and  the  body  was  left  to 
moulder  by  the  side  of  those  who  had  gone  before  to  the  dark- 
ness of  the  tomb.  Perhaps,  of  all  who  witnessed  the  descent 
of  the  coffin,  Polwarth  alone,  through  that  chain  of  sympathies 
which  bound  him  to  the  caprice  of  Agnes,  felt  any  emotion  at 
all  in  consonance  with  ti  e  solemn  scene.  The  obsequies  of 
the  dead  w^ere,  like  the  living  character  of  the  woman,  cold, 
formal,  and  artificial.  The  sexton  and  his  assistants  had  hardly 
commenced  replacing  the  stone  which  covered  the  entrance  of 
the  vault,  when  a  knot  of  elderly  men  set  the  example  of  deser- 
tion, by  moving  away  in  a  body  from  the  spot.  As  they  picked 
their  footsteps  among  the  graves,  and  over  the  frozen  ground  of 
the  churchyard,  they  discoursed  idly  together,  of  the  fortunes 
and  age  of  the  woman  of  whom  they  had  now  taken  their 
leave  forever.  The  curse  of  selfishness  appeared  even  to  have 
fallen  on  the  warning  which  so  sudden  an  end  should  have 
given  to  those  who  forgot  they  tottered  on  the  brink  of  the 
grave.  They  spoke  of  the  deceased  as  of  one  who  had  failed 
to  awaken  the  charities  of  our  nature,  and  though  several  ven- 
tured their  conjectures  as  to  the  manner  in  which  she  had  dis- 
posed of  her  worldly  possessions,  not  one  remembered  to  lament 
that  she  had  contiuued  no  longer  to  enjoy  them.  From  this 
theme  thev  soon  wandered  to  themselves,  and  the  whole  party 


340 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


quitted  the  churcliyard  joking  each  other  on  the  inroads  of 
time,  each  man  attempting  to  ape  the  elastic  tread  of  youth,  in 
order  not  only  to  conceal  from  his  comjpanions  the  ravages  of 
age,  but  with  a  vain  desire  to  extend  the  artifice  so  far,  if  pos- 
sible, as  to  deceive  himself. 

When  the  seniors  of  the  party  withdrew,  the  remainder  of 
the  spectators  did  not  hesitate  to  follow  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes 
Polwarth  found  himself  standing  before  the  vault,  with  only  two 
others  of  all  those  who  had  attended  the  body.  The  captain, 
w^ho  had  been  at  no  little  expense  of  time  and  trouble  to  main- 
tain the  decencies  which  became  a  near  friend  of  the  family  of 
the  deceased,  stood  a  minute  longer,  to  permit  these  lingering 
followers  to  retire  also,  before  he  turned  his  own  back  on  the 
place  of  the  dead.  But  perceiving  they  both  maintained  their 
posts,  in  silent  attention,  he  raised  his  eyes,  more  curiously,  to 
examine  who  these  loiterers  might  be. 

The  one  nearest  to  himself  was  a  man,  whose  dress  and  air 
bespoke  him  to  be  of  no  very  exalted  rank  in  life,  while  the 
other  was  a  woman,  of  even  an  inferior  condition,  if  an  opinion 
might  be  formed  from  the  squalid  misery  that  was  exhibited  in 
her  attire.  A  little  fatigued  with  the  arduous  labors  of  the 
day,  and  of  the  duties  of  the  unusual  office  he  had  assumed, 
the  worthy  captain  touched  his  hat  wdth  studied  decorum,  and 
said- — 

"  I  thank  you,  good  people,  for  this  mark  of  respect  to.  the 
memory  of  my  deceased  friend  ;  but  as  we  have  performed  all 
that  can  now  be  done  in  her  behalf,  we  will  retire." 

Apparently  encouraged  by  the  easy  and  courteous  manner  of 
Polwarth,  the  man  approached  still  nigher,  and,  after  bowing 
with  much  respect,  ventured  to  say — 

"  They  tell  me  'tis  the  funeral  of  Madam  Lechmere  that  I 
have  witnessed 

"  They  tell  you  true,  sir,"  returned  the  captain,  beginning 
slowly  to  pick  his  way  tov/ards  the  gate  :  "  of  Mrs.  Priscilla, 
the  relict  of  Mr.  John  Lechmere — a  lady  of  a  creditable  de- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


341 


Bcent,  and  I  think  it  will  not  be  denied  that  she  lias  had  honor- 
able interment." 

"  If  it  be  the  lady  I  suppose,"  continued  the  stranger,  "  she 
is  of  an  honorable  descent,  indeed.  Her  maiden  name  wa? 
Lincoln,  and  she  is  aunt  to  the  great  Devonshire  baronet  of  that 
family." 

"  How  !  know  you  the  Lincolns  f  exclaimed  Polwarth,  stop- 
ping short,  and  turning  to  examine  the  other  with  a  stricter 
eye.  Perceiving,  however,  that  the  stranger  was  a  man  of 
harsh  and  peculiarly  forbidding  features,  in  the  vulgar  dress  al- 
ready mentioned,  he  muttered — "  You  may  have  heard  of  them, 
friend,  but  I  should  doubt  whether  your  intimacy  could  amount 
to  such  wholesome  familiarities  as  eating  and  drinking." 

"  Stronger  intimacies  than  that,  sir,  are  sometimes  brought 
about  between  men  who  were  born  to  very  different  fortunes," 
returned  the  stranger,  with  a  peculiarly  sarcastic  and  ambigu- 
ous smile,  which  meant  more  than  met  the  eye.  "  But  all  who 
know  the  Lincolns,  sir,  will  allow  their  claims  to  distinction. 
If  this  lady  was  one  of  them,  she  had  reason  to  be  proud  of  her 
blood." 

"  Ay,  you  are  not  tainted,  I  see,  with  these  revolutionary  no 
tions,  my  friend,"  returned  Polwarth :  "  she  was  also  connected 
with  a  very  good  sort  of  a  family  in  this  colony,  called  the  Dan- 
forths — you  know  the  Danforths  ?" 

"  Not  at  all,  sir  :  I—" 

"  Not  know  the  Danforths  !"  exclaimed  Polwarth,  once  more 
stopping  to  bestow  a  freer  scrutiny  on  his  companion.  After  a 
short  pause,  however,  he  nodded  his  head,  in  approbation  of  his 
own  conclusions,  and  added — "No,  no — I  am  wrong — I  see  you 
could  not  have  known  much  of  the  Danforths." 

The  stranger  appeared  quite  willing  to  overlook  the  cavalier 
treatment  he  received,  for  he  continued  to  attend  the  dijfficult 
*botsteps  of  the  maimed  soldier,  with  the  same  respectful  defer- 
ence as  before. 

"  I  have  no  knowledge  of  the  Danforths,  it  is  true,"  he  an- 


342 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


awered  ;  but  I  may  boast  of  some  intimacy  with  the  family  of 
Lincoln." 

"  Would  to  God,'  then  "  cried  Polwarth,  in  a  sort  of  soliloquy, 
which  escaped  him  in  the  fulness  of  his  heart,  "  you  could  tell 
us  what  has  become  of  its  heir  !" 

The  stranger  stopped  short  in  his  turn,  and  exclaimed — 

"  Is  he  not  serving  with  the  army  of  the  king,  against  this 
rebellion  ?    Is  he  not  here 

"  lie  is  here,  or  he  is  there,  or  he  is  anywhere  :  I  tell  you  he 
is  lost." 

"  lie  is  lost !"  echoed  the  other. 

"  Lost !"  repeated  a  humble  female  voice,  at  the  very  elbow 
of  the  captain. 

This  singular  repetition  of  his  own  language  aroused  Pol- 
warth from  the  abstraction  into  which  he  had  suffered  himself 
to  fall.  In  his  course  from  the  vault  to  the  churchyard  gate, 
he  had  unconsciously  approached  the  woman  before  mentioned, 
and  when  he  turned  at  the  sounds  of  her  voice,  his  eyes  fell 
full  upon  her  anxious  countenance.  The  very  first  glance  was 
enough  to  tell  the  observant  captain  that,  in  the  midst  of  her 
poverty  and  rags,  he  saw  the  broken  remains  of  great  female 
beauty.  Her  dark  and  intelligent  eyes,  set  as  they  were  in  a 
sallow  and  sunken  countenance,  still  retained  much  of  the 
brightness,  if  not  of  the  softness  and  peace,  of  youth.  The  con- 
tour of  her  face  was  also  striking,  though  she  might  be  said  to 
resemble  one  whose  loveliness  had  long  since  departed  with  her 
innocence.  But  the  gallantry  of  Polwarth  was  proof  even 
against  the  unequivocal  signs  of  misery,  if  not  of  guilt,  which 
were  so  easily  to  be  traced  in  her  appearance ;  and  he  too  much 
respected  even  the  remnants  of  female  charms  which  were  yet 
^^sible  amid  such  a  mass  of  unseemliness,  to  regard  them  with 
an  unfriendly  eye.  Apparently  encouraged  by  the  kind  look  of 
the  captain,  the  woman  ventured  to  add — 

"  Did  I  hear  aright,  sir  ?    Said  you  that  Major  Lincoln  was 

lost  r 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


343 


"  I  am  afraid,  good  woman,"  returned  the  captain,  leaning 
on  tlie  iron-shod  stick,  with  which  he  was  wont  to  protect  his 
footsteps  along  the  icy  streets  of  Boston,  "  that  this  siege  has, 
in  your  case,  proved  unusually  severe.  If  I  am  not  mistaken 
in  a  matter  in  which  I  profess  to  know  much,  nature  is  not 
supported  as  nature  should  be.  You  would  ask  for  food,  and 
God  forbid  that  I  should  deny  a  fellow-creature  a  morsel  of  that 
which  constitutes  both  the  seed  and  the  fruits  of  life.  Here  is 
money." 

The  muscles  of  the  attenuated  countenance  of  the  woman 
worked  with  a  sudden  convulsive  motion,  and,  for  a  moment, 
she  glanced  her  eyes  wistfully  towards  his  silver,  but  a  slight 
flush  passing  quickly  over  her  pallid  features,  she  answered — 

"  Whatever  may  be  my  wants  and  my  suffering,  I  thank  my  God 
that  he  has  not  levelled  me  with  the  beggar  of  the  streets.  Be- 
fore that  evil  day  shall  come,  may  I  find  a  place  amongst  these 
frozen  hillocks  where  we  stand !  But  I  beg  pardon,  sir :  I 
thought  I  heard  you  speak  of  Major  Lincoln." 

"  I  did ;  and  what  of  him  ?  I  said  he  was  lost ;  and  it  is 
true,  if  that  be  lost  which  cannot  be  found." 

"  And  did  Madam  Lechmere  take  her  leave  before  he  was 
missing  ?"  asked  the  woman,  advancing  a  step  nearer  to  Pol- 
warth,  in  her  intense  anxiety  to  be  answered. 

"  Do  you  think,  good  woman,  that  a  gentleman  of  Major  Lin- 
coln's notion  of  things  would  disappear  after  the  decease  of  his 
relative,  and  leave  a  comparative  stranger  to  fill  the  office  of 
principal  mourner  ?" 

"  The  Lord  forgive  us  all  our  sins  and  wickedness !"  mut- 
tered the  woman,  drawing  the  shreds  of  her  tattered  cloak 
about  her  shivering  form,  and  hastening  silently  away  into  the 
depths  of  the  graveyard.  Polwarth  'regarded  her  unceremo- 
nious departure  for  a  moment  in  surprise,  and  then,  turning  to 
his  remaining  companion,  he  remarked — 

"  That  woman  is  unsettled  in  her  reason,  for  the  want  of 
wholesome  nutriment.    It  is  just  as  impossible  to  retain  the 


344 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


powers  of  tlie  mind,  and  neglect  the  stomach,  as  it  is  to  expect 
a  truant  boy  will  make  a  learned  man."  By  this  time  the 
worthy  captain  had  forgotten  whom  it  was  he  addressed,  and  he 
continued,  in  his  usual  philosophic  strain,  "Children  are  sent  to 
school  to  learn  all  useful  inventions  but  that  of  eating  ;  for  to 
eat — that  is,  to  eat  with  judgment — is  as  much  of  an  invention 
as  any  other  discovery.  Every  mouthful  a  man  swallows  has 
to  undergo  four  important  operations,  each  of  which  maybe 
called  a  crisis  in  the  human  constitution." 

"  Suffer  me  to  help  you  over  this  grave,"  said  the  other,  offi- 
ciously offering  his  assistance. 

"  I  thank  you,  sir,  I  thank  you — 'tis  a  sad  commentary  on 
my  words  1"  returned  the  captain,  with  a  melancholy  smile. 
"  The  time  has  been  when  I  served  in  the  hght  corps,  but  your 
men  in  unequal  quantities  are  good  for  little  else  but  garri- 
sons !  As  I  was  saying,  there  is  first,  the  selection  ;  second, 
mastication  ;  third,  deglutition  ;  and  lastly,  the  digestion." 

"  Quite  true,  sir,"  said  the  stranger,  a  little  abruptly  :  "  thin 
diet  and  hght  meals  are  best  for  the  brain." 

"  Thin  diet  and  hght  meals,  sir,  are  good  for  nothing  but  to 
rear  dwarfs  and  idiots  I"  returned  the  captain,  with  some  heat. 
"  I  repeat  to  you,  sir — " 

He  was  interrupted  by  the  stranger,  who  suddenly  smothered 
a  dissertation  on  the  connection  between  the  material  and  im- 
material, by  asking — 

"  If  the  heir  of  such  a  family  be  lost,  is  there  none  to  see  that 
he  is  found  again  ?" 

Polwarth,  finding  himself  thus  checked  in  the  very  opening 
of  his  theme,  stopped  again,  and  stared  the  other  full  in  the 
face  for  a  moment,  without  making  any  reply.  His  kind  feel 
ing,  however,  got  the  better  of  his  displeasure,  and  yielding  to 
the  interest  he  felt  in  the  fate  of  Lionel,  he  answered — 

"  I  would  go  all  lengths,  and  incur  every  hazard,  to  do  him 
Bervice." 

"  Then,  sir,  accident  has  brought  those  together  who  are  will- 


IIOKEL  LINCOLN. 


345 


mg  to  engage  in  the  same  undertaking.  I,  too,  will  clo  my 
utmost  to  discover  him,  I  have  heard  he  has  friends  in  this 
province.  Has  he  no  connection  to  whom  we  may  apply  for 
intelligence  ?" 

"  None  nearer  than  a  wife." 

"  A  wife  I"  repeated  the  other,  in  surprise.  "  Is  he,  then, 
married  ?" 

A  long  pause  ensued,  during  which  the  stranger  mused  deep- 
ly, and  Polwarth  bestowed  a  still  more  searching  scrutiny  than 
ever  on  his  companion.  It  would  appear  that  the  result  was 
not  satisfactory  to  the  captain ;  for,  shaking  his  head,  in  no 
very  equivocal  manner,  he  resumed  the  task  of  picking  his  way 
among  the  graves,  towards  the  gate,  with  renewed  diligence. 
He  was  in  the  act  of  seating  himself  in  the  pung,  when  the 
stranger  again  stood  at  his  elbow,  and  said — 

"  If  I  knew  where  to  find  his  wife,  I  would  offer  my  services 
to  the  lady." 

Polwarth  pointed  to  the  building  of  which  Cecil  was  now  the 
mistress,  and  answered,  somewhat  superciliously,  as  he  drove 
away — 

"  She  is  there,  my  good  friend,  but  your  application  will  be 
useless." 

The  stranger  received  the  direction  in  an  understanding  man- 
ner, and  smiled  with  satisfied  co*nfidence,  while  he  took  the  op- 
posite route  from  that  by  which  the  busy  equipage  of  the  captain 
had  already  disappeared. 


346 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XXVL 

"  Up  Fish-Street  I  down  Saint  Magnus'  corner  I 
Kill  and  knock  down  I   Throw  thera  into  Thames  I — 
"What  noise  is  this  I  hear  ?   Dare  any  be  so  bold  to  sound 
Eetreat  or  parley,  when  I  command  them  kill  ?" 

King  Henet  IV. 

It  was  rarely,  indeed,  tliat  the  equal-minded  Polwarth  under- 
took an  adventure  with  so  fell  an  intent  as  was  the  disposition 
with  which  he  directed  the  head  of  the  hunter  to  be  turned  to- 
wards the  Dock  Square.  He  had  long  known  the  residence  of 
Job  Pray,  and  often,  in  passing  from  his  lodgings,  near  the 
common,  into  the  more  fashionable  quarter  of  the  town,  the 
good-natured  epicure  had  turned  his  head  to  bestow  a  nod  and 
a  smile  on  the  unsophisticated  admirer  of  his  skill  in  the  culi- 
nary art.  But  now,  as  the  pung  whirled  out  of  Corn  Hill  into 
the  well-known  area,  his  eye  fell  on  the  low  and  gloomy  walls 
of  the  warehouse,  with  a  far  less  amicable  design. 

From  the  time  he  was  apprised  of  the  disappearance  of  his 
friend,  the  captain  had  been  industriously  ruminating  on  the 
subject,  in  a  vain  wish  to  discover  any  probable  reason  that 
might  induce  a  bridegroom  to  adopt  so  hasty,  and,  apparently, 
so  unjustifiable  a  step,  as  the  desertion  of  his  bride,  and  that, 
too,  under  circumstances  of  such  peculiar  distress.  But  the 
more  he  reasoned,  the  more  he  found  himself  involved  in  the 
labyrinth  of  perplexity,  until  he  was  glad  to  seize  on  the  slight- 
est clue  which  offered,  to  lead  him  from  his  obscurity.  It  has 
already  been  seen  in  what  manner  he  received  the  intelligence 
conveyed  through  the  gorget  of  M'Fuse,  and  it  now  remains  for 
us  to  show  with  what  commendable  ingenuity  he  improved  the 
hint 


LIONEL    LINC  O  L  N. 


347 


It  had  always  been  a  matter  of  surprise  to  Polwarth,  that  a 
man  hke  Lionel  should  tolerate  so  much  of  the  society  of  the 
simpleton;  nor  had  it  escaped  his  observation,  that  the  com- 
munications between  the  two  were  a  little  concealed  under  a 
shade  of  mystery.  He  had  overheard  the  foolish  boast  of  the 
lad,  the  preceding  day,  relative  to  the  death  of  MTuse  ;  and  the 
battered  ornament,  in  conjunction  with  the  place  where  it  was 
found,  which  accorded  so  well  with  his  grovelling  habits,  had 
tended  to  confirm  its  truth.  The  love  of  Polwarth  for  the 
grenadier  was  second  only  to  his  attachment  for  his  earlier 
friend.  The  one  had  avowedly  fallen,  and  he  soon  began  to 
suspect  that  the  other  had  been  strangely  inveigled  from  his 
duty  by  the  agency  of  this  ill-gifted  changeling.  To  conceive 
an  opinion,  and  to  become  confirmed  in  its  justice,  were  results 
generally  produced  by  the  same  operation  of  the  mind,  with 
this  disciple  of  animal  philosophy.  Whilst  he  stood  near  the 
tomb  of  the  Lechmeres,  in  the  important  character  of  chief 
mourner,  he  had  diligently  revolved  in  his  mind  the  brief  argu- 
ments which  he  found  necessary  to  this  conclusion.  The 
arrangement  of  his  ideas  might  boast  of  the  terseness  of  a  syl- 
logism. His  proposition  and  inference  were  something  as  fol- 
lows : — Job  murdered  M'Fuse ; — some  great  evil  has  occurred 
to  Lionel ; — and  therefore  Job  has  been  its  author. 

It  is  true,  there  was  a  good  deal  of  intermediate  argument  to 
support  this  deduction,  at  which  the  captain  cast  an  extremely  cur- 
sory glance,  but  which  the  reader  may  easily  conceive,  if  at  all 
gifted  in  the  way  of  imagination.  It  would  require  no  undue  belief 
of  the  connection  between  very  natural  efiects  and  their  causes, 
to  show  that  Polwarth  was  not  entirely  unreasonable  in  suspect- 
ing the  agency  of  the  simpleton,  nor  in  harboring  the  deep  and 
bitter  resentment  that  so  much  mischief,  even  though  it  were 
sustained  from  the  hands  of  a  fool,  was  likely  to  awaken.  Be 
that  as  it  may,  by  the  time  the  pung  had  reached  the  point 
already  mentioned,  its  rapid  motion,  which  accelerated  the  or- 
dinarily quiet  circulation  of  his  blood,  together  with  the  scenQ 


848 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


througli  whicli  he  had  just  passed,  and  the  recollections  which 
had  been  crowding  on  his  mind,  conspired  to  wind  up  his  res- 
olution to  a  very  obstinate  pitch  of  determination.  Of  all  his 
schemes,  embracing,  as  they  did,  compulsion,  confession,  and 
punishment.  Job  Pray  was,  of  course,  destined  to  be  both  the 
subject  and  the  victim. 

The  shadows  of  evening  were  already  thrown  upon  the  town^ 
and  the  cold  had  long  before  driven  the  few  dealers  in  meats  and 
vegetables,  who  continued  to  find  daily  employment  around  the 
ill-furnished  shambles,  to  their  several  homes.  In  their  stead 
there  was  only  to  be  seen  a  meager  and  impoverished  follower 
of  the  camp,  stealing  along  the  shadows  of  the  building,  with 
her  half-famished  child,  as  they  searched  among  the  offals  of 
the  market  for  some  neglected  morsel,  to  eke  out  the  scanty 
meal  of  the  night.  But  while  the  common  mart  presented  this 
appearance  of  dullness  and  want,  the  lower  part  of  the  square 
exhibited  a  very  different  aspect. 

The  warehouse  was  surrounded  by  a  body  of  men  in  uniform, 
whose  disorderly  and  rapid  movements  proclaimed  at  once,  to 
the  experienced  eye  of  the  captain,  that  they  were  engaged  in 
a  scene  of  lawless  violence.  Some  were  rushing  furiously  into 
the  building,  armed  with  such  weapons  as  the  streets  first 
offered  to  their  hands,  while  others  returned,  filling  the  air  with 
their  threats  and  outcries.  A  constant  current  of  eager  soldiers 
was  setting  out  of  the  dark  passages  in  the  neighborhood  to- 
wards the  place,  and  every  window  of  the  building  was  crowded 
with  excited  witnesses,  who  clung  to  the  walls,  apparently  ani- 
mating those  within  by  their  cheers  and  applause. 

When  Polwarth  bade  Shearflint  pull  the  reins,  he  caught  the 
quick,  half-formed  sentences  that  burst  from  the  rioters,  and 
even  before  he  was  able,  in  the  duskiness  of  the  evening,  to  dis- 
cover the  facings  of  their  uniform,  his  ear  detected  the  well- 
known  dialect  of  the  Royal  Irish.  The  whole  truth  now  broke 
upon  him  at  once,  and  throwing  his  obese  person  from  the 
sleigh,  in  the  best  manner  he  was  able,  he  hobbled  into  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


349 


throng,  with  a  singular  compound  of  feeling,  which  owed  its 
birth  to  the  opposing  impulses  of  a  thirst  for  vengeance,  and  the 
lingering  influence  of  his  natural  kindness.  Better  men  than 
the  captain  have,  however,  lost  sight  of  their  humanity,  under 
those  fierce  sympathies  that  are  awakened  in  moments  of  tumult 
and  violence.  By  the  time  he  had  forced  his  person  into  the 
large,  dark  apartment  that  formed  the  main  building,  he  had, 
in  a  great  degree  suffered  himself  to  be  worked  into  a  sternness 
of  purpose,  which  comported  very  ill  with  his  intelligence  and 
rank.  He  even  listened  with  unaccountable  pleasure  to  the 
threats  and  denunciations  which  filled  the  building ;  until  he 
foresaw,  from  their  savage  nature,  there  was  great  danger  that 
one  half  of  his  object,  the  discovery  of  Lionel,  was  likely  to  be 
frustrated  by  their  fulfilment.  Animated  anew  by  this  impres- 
sion, he  threw  the  rioters  from  him  with  prodigious  energy,  and 
succeeded  in  gaining  a  position  where  he  might  become  a  more 
efficient  actor  in  the  fray. 

There  was  still  light  enough  to  discover  Job  Pray  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  warehouse,  on  his  miserable  bed,  in  an  attitude 
between  lying  and  sitting.  While  his  bodily  condition  seemed 
to  require  the  former  position,  his  fears  had  induced  him  to 
attempt  the  latter.  The  large,  red  blotches  which  covered  his 
unmeaning  countenance,  and  his  flushed  eyeballs,  too  plainly 
announced  that  the  unfortunate  young  man,  in  addition  to  hav- 
ing become  the  object  of  the  wrath  of  a  lawless  mob,  was  a  prey 
to  the  ravages  of  that  foul  disorder  which  had  long  before  lighted 
on  the  town.  Around  this  squalid  subject  of  poverty  and  dis- 
ease, a  few  of  the  hardiest  of  the  rioters,  chiefly  the  surviving 
grenadiers  of  the  18th,  had  gathered;  while  the  less  excited,  or 
more  timid  among  them,  practised  their  means  of  annoyance  at 
a  greater  distance  from  the  malign  atmosphere  of  the  distemper. 
The  bruised  and  bloody  person  of  the  simpleton  manifested  how 
much  he  had  already  suffered  from  the  hands  of  his  tormentors, 
who  happily  possessed  no  very  fatal  weapons,  or  the  scene  would 
have  been  much  earlier  terminated.    Notwithstanding  his  great 


350 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


bodily  debility,  and  tbe  pressing  dangers  that  beset  him  on 
every  side,  Job  continued  to  face  his  assailants,  with  a  sort  of 
stupid  endurance  of  the  pains  they  inflicted. 

At  the  sight  of  this  revolting  spectacle,  the  heart  of  Polwarth 
began  greatly  to  relent,  and  he  endeavored  to  make  himself 
heard  in  the  clamor  of  fifty  voices.  But  his  presence  vras  un- 
heeded, for  his  remonstrances  were  uttered  to  ignorant  men, 
wildly  bent  on  vengeance. 

"  Pul  the  baist  from  his  rags !"  cried  one — "  'tis  no  a  human 
man,  but  a  diviFs  imp,  in  the  shape  of  a  fellow-cratur !" 

"  For  such  as  him  to  murder  the  flower  of  the  British  army !" 
said  another — "  his  small-pox  is  nothing  but  a  foul  invintion  of 
the  ould  one,  to  save  him  from  his  daisarrevings !" 

"  Would  any  but  a  divil  invint  such  a  disorder  at  all  ?"  inter- 
rupted a  third,  who,  even  in  his  anger,  could  not  forget  his 
humor.  "Have  a  care,  b'ys,  he  may  give  it  to  the  whole 
family  the  naat'ral  w^ay,  to  save  the  charges  of  the  inoculation  P 

"Have  done  wid  ye'r  foolery,  Terence,"  returned  the  first; 
would  ye  trifle  about  death,  and  his  unrevenged?  Put  a 
coal  into  his  filth,  b'ys,  and  burren  it  and  him  in  the  same 
bonfire  1" 

"A  coal!  a  coal!  a  brand  for  the  divil's  burning!"  echoed 
tvfenty  soldiers,  eagerly  listening,  in  the  madness  of  their  fury, 
to  the  barbarous  advice. 

Polwarth  again  exerted  himself,  though  unsuccessfully,  to  be 
heard;  nor  was  it  until  a  dozen  voices  proclaimed,  in  disap- 
pointment, that  the  house  contained  neither  fire  nor  fuel,  that 
the  sudden  commotion  in  the  least  subsided. 

"  Out  of  the  way !  out  of  the  way  wid  ye !"  roared  one  of 
gigantic  mould,  whose  heavy  nature  had,  hke  an  overcharged 
volcano,  been  slowly  wrought  up  to  the  eve  of  a  fearful  erup- 
tion— "  Here  is  fire  to  destroy  a  salamander !  Be  he  divil  or  be 
lie  saint,  he  has  great  need  of  his  prayers !" 

As  he  spoke,  the  fellow  levelled  a  musket,  and  another  instant 
^ould  have  decided  the  fate  of  Job,  who  cowered  before  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


351 


danger  with  instinctive  dread,  had  not  Polwarth  beat  up  the 
piece  with  his  cane,  and  interposed  his  body  between  them. 

"  Hold  your  fire,  brave  grenadier,"  he  said,  warily  adopting  a 
middle  course  between  the  language  of  authority  and  that  of 
counsel.  "  This  is  hasty  and  unsoldier-like.  I  knew,  and  loved 
your  late  commander  well ;  let  us  obtain  the  confessions  of  tlie 
lad  before  we  proceed  to  punishment — there  may  be  others 
more  guilty  than  he." 

The  men  regarded  the  unexpected  intruder  with  such  furious 
aspects  as  augured  ill  of  their  deference  for  his  advice  and  sta- 
tion. "  Blood  for  blood !"  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth,  in  low, 
sullen  mutterings ;  and  the  short  pause  which  had  succeeded 
his  appearance  was  already  broken  by  still  less  equivocal  marks 
of  hostility,  when,  happily  for  Polwarth,  he  was  recognized, 
through  the  twilight,  by  a  veteran  of  the  grenadiers,  as  one  of 
the  former  intimates  of  M'Fuse.  The  instant  the  soldier  com- 
municated this  discovery  to  his  fellows,  the  growing  uproar 
again  subsided,  and  the  captain  was  relieved  from  no  small 
bodily  terror,  by  hearing  his  own  name  passing  among  them, 
coupled  with  such  amicable  additions  as  "  his  ould  fri'nd !" — 
"  an  offisher  of  the  light  troops !" — "  he  that  the  ribbils  massa- 
cred of  a  leg !"  &c.  As  soon  as  this  explanation  was  generally 
understood,  his  ears  were  greeted  with  a  burst  from  every 
mouth,  of — 

"  Hurrah  for  Captain  Pollywarreth  !  His  fri'nd !  the  brave 
Captain  Pollywarreth !" 

Pleased  with  his  success,  and  secretly  gratified  by  the  com- 
mendations that  were  now  freely  lavished  on  himself,  with 
characteristic  liberality,  the  mediator  improved  the  slight  ad- 
vantage he  had  obtained,  by  again  addressing  them. 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  good  opinion,  my  friends,"  he  added> 
"  and  must  acknowledge  it  is  entirely  mutual.  I  love  the  Koyal 
Irish,  on  account  of  one  that  I  well  knew,  and  greatly  esteemed, 
and  who,  I  fear,  was  murdered  in  defiance  of  all  the  rules  of 
war." 


362 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


"  Hear  ye  that,  Dennis  ?  murdered !" 

"  Blood  for  blood !"  muttered  three  or  four  surly  voices  at 
once. 

"  Let  us  be  deliberate,  that  we  may  be  just,  and  just  that  our 
vengeance  may  be  awful,''  Polwarth  quickly  answered,  fearful 
that  if  the  torrent  once  more  broke  loose,  it  would  exceed  his 
powers  to  stay  it.  "A  true  soldier  always  awaits  his  orders; 
and  what  regiment  in  the  army  can  boast  of  its  discipline,  if  it 
be  not  the  18th?  Form  yourselves  in  a  circle  around  your 
prisoner,  and  listen,  while  I  extract  the  truth  from  him.  After 
that,  should  he  prove  guilty,  I  will  consign  him  to  your  tender- 
est  mercy." 

The  rioters,  who  only  saw,  in  the  delay,  a  more  methodical 
execution  of  their  own  violent  purpose,  received  the  proposition 
with  another  shout,  and  the  name  of  Polwarth,  pronounced  in 
all  the  varieties  of  their  barbarous  idioms,  rung  loudly  through 
the  naked  rafters  of  the  building,  while  they  disposed  themselves 
to  comply. 

The  captain,  with  a  wish  to  gain  time  to  command  his 
thoughts,  required  that  a  light  should  be  struck,  in  order,  as  he 
said,  to  study  the  workings  of  the  countenance  of  the  accused. 
As  the  night  had  now  gathered  about  them  in  good  earnest,  the 
demand  was  too  reasonable  for  objection,  and  with  the  same 
headlong  eagerness  that  they  had  manifested  a  few  minutes 
before,  to  shed  the  blood  of  Job,  they  turned  their  attention, 
with  thoughtless  versatility,  to  effect  this  harmless  object.  A 
brand  had  been  brought,  for  a  very  different  end,  when  the  plan 
of  burning  was  proposed,  and  it  had  been  cast  aside  again  with 
the  change  of  purpose.  A  few  of  its  sparks  were  now  collected, 
and  some  bundles  of  oakum,  which  lay  in  a  corner  of  the  ware- 
house, were  fired,  and  carefully  fed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  shed 
a  strong  light  through  every  cranny  of  the  gloomy  edifice. 

By  the  aid  of  this  fitful  glare,  the  captain  succeeded  once 
more  in  marshalling  the  rioters  in  such  a  manner  that  no  covert 
injury  could  be  offered  to  Job.    The  whole  affair  now  assumed, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


353 


m  some  measure,  the  character  of  a  regular  investigation.  The 
curiosity  of  the  men  without  overcame  their  fears  of  infection, 
and  they  crowded  into  the  place,  in  earnest  attention,  until,  in  a 
very  few  moments,  no  other  sound  was  audible  but  the  difficult 
and  oppressed  respiration  of  their  victim.  When  all  the  other 
noises  had  ceased,  and  Polwarth  perceived  by  the  eager  and 
savage  countenances,  athwart  which  the  bright  glare  of  the 
burning  hemp  was  gleaming,  that  delay  might  yet  be  dangerous, 
he  proceeded  at  once  in  his  inquiries. 

"  You  may  see.  Job  Pray,  by  the  manner  in  which  you  are 
surrounded,"  he  said,  "  that  judgment  has  at  length  overtaken 
you,  and  that  your  only  hope  for  mercy  lies  in  your  truth. 
Answer,  then,  to  such  questions  as  I  shall  put,  and  keep  the 
fear  of  God  before  your  eyes." 

The  captain  paused  to  allow  this  exhortation  to  produce  its 
desired  effect.  But  Job,  perceiving  that  his  late  tormentors 
were  quiet,  and  to  all  appearance  bent  on  no  immediate  mis- 
chief, sunk  his  head  languidly  upon  his  blankets,  where  he  lay 
in  silence,  watching,  with  rolling  and  anxious  eyes,  the  smallest 
movements  of  his  enemies.  Polwarth  soon  yielded  to  the  im- 
patience of  his  listeners,  and  continued — 

"  You  are  acquainted  with  Major  Lincoln  ?" 

"  Major  Lincoln  1''  grumbled  three  or  four  of  the  grenadiers  ; 
"  is  it  of  him  that  we  want  to  hear 

"One  moment,  my  worthy  18ths  ;  I  shall  come  at  the  whole 
truth  the  sooner,  by  taking  this  indirect  course." 

"  Hurrah  for  Captain  Polly warreth !"  shouted  the  rioters , 
"him  that  the  ribbils  massacred  of  a  leo;  1" 

"  Thank  you — thank  you,  my  considerate  friends :  answer, 
fellow,  without  p)-evarication ;  you  dare  not  deny  to  me  your 
knowledge  of  Major  Lincoln  ?" 

After  a  momentary  pause,  a  low  voice  was  heard  muttering 
among  the  blankets — 

"  Job  knows  all  the  Boston  people  ;  and  Major  Lincoln  is  a 
Boston  boy." 


354 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"But  with  Major  Lincoln  you  liad  a  more  particular  acquaint* 
ance.  Restrain  your  impatience,  men  ;  these  questions  lead 
directly  to  the  facts  you  wish  to  know."  The  rioters,  who  were 
profoundly  ignorant  of  what  sort  of  facts  they  were  to  be  made 
acquainted  with  by  this  examination,  looked  at  each  other  in 
uneasy  doubt,  but  soon  settled  down  again  into  their  former 
deep  silence.  "You  know  him  better  than  any  other  gentleman 
of  the  army 

"  He  promised  J ob  to  keep  off  the  grannies,  and  Job  agreed 
to  run  his  ar'n'ds." 

"  Such  an  arrangement  betrays  a  greater  intimacy  than  is 
usual  between  a  wise  man  and  a  fool !  If  you  are  then  so 
close  in  league  with  him,  I  demand  what  has  become  of  your 
associate?" 

The  young  man  made  no  reply. 

"  You  are  thought  to  know  the  reasons  why  he  has  left  his 
friends,"  returned  Polwarth,  "  and  I  now  demand  that  you  de- 
clare them." 

"  Declare  1"  repeated  the  simpleton,  in  his  most  unmeaning 
and  helpless  manner  :  "  Job  was  never  good  at  his  schooling." 

"  Nay,  then,  if  you  are  obstinate,  and  will  not  answer,  I  must 
withdraw,  and  permit  these  brave  grenadiers  to  work  their  will 
on  you." 

This  threat  served  to  induce  Job  to  raise  his  head,  and  assume 
that  attitude  and  look  of  instinctive  watchfulness  that  he  had  so 
recently  abandoned.  A  slight  movement  of  the  crowd  followed, 
and  the  terrible  words  of  "  Blood  for  blood !"  again  passed  among 
them  in  sullen  murmurs.  The  helpless  youth,  whom  we  have 
been  obliged  to  call  an  idiot,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  and  be- 
cause his  mental  imbecility  removed  him  without  the  pale 
of  legal  responsibility,  now  stared  wildly  about  him,  with  an 
increasing  expression  of  reason,  that  might  be  ascribed  to  the 
force  of  that  inward  fire  which  preyed  upon  his  vitals,  and  which 
seemed  to  purify  the  spirit  in  proportion  as  it  consumed  the  ma- 
terial dross  of  his  existence. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


355 


"  It's  ag'in  tlie  laws  of  the  Bay  to  beat  and  torment  a  fellow- 
creature,"  he  said,  with  a  solemn,  earnestness  in  his  voice,  that 
would  have  melted  hearts  of  ordinary  softness ;  "  and,  what  is 
more,  it's  ag'in  His  holy  book !  If  you  hadn't  made  oven-wood 
of  the  Old  North,  and  a  horse-stable  of  the  Old  South,  you  might 
have  gone  to  hear  such  expounding  as  would  have  made  the 
hair  rise  on  your  wicked  heads  !" 

The  cries  of  "  Have  done  wid  his  foolery !"  "  The  imp  is 
playing  his  games  on  us  !"  "  As  if  his  wooden  mockery  was  a 
church  at  all  fit  for  a  ra'al  Christian  !"  were  heard  on  every  side, 
and  they  v/ere  succeeded  by  the  often  repeated  and  appalling 
threat  of  "  Blood  for  blood  !" 

"  Fall  back,  men,  fall  back  !"  cried  Polwarth,  flourishing  his 
walking-stick  in  such  a  manner  as  effectually  to  enforce  his 
orders  ;  "  wait  for  his  confession  before  you  judge.  Fellow,  this 
is  the  last  and  trying  appeal  to  your  truth — your  life  most  prob- 
ably depends  on  the  answer.  You  are  known  to  have  been  in 
arms  against  the  crown.  Nay,  I  myself  saw  you  in  the  field  on 
that  day  when  the  troops  a-a-a  countermarched  from  Lexing- 
ton ;  since  when  you  are  known  to  have  joined  the  rebels  while 
the  army  went  out  to  storm  the  intrenchment  on  the  heights  ot 
Charlestown."  At  this  point  in  the  recapitulation  of  the  offen- 
ces of  Job,  the  captain  was  suddenly  appalled  by  a  glimpse  at 
the  dark  and  threatening  looks  that  encircled  him,  and  he  con- 
cluded with  a  laudable  readiness  ;  "  on  that  glorious  day  when 
his  majesty's  troops  scattered  your  provincial  rabble  like  so  many 
sheep  driven  from  their  pastures  by  dogs  !" 

The  humane  ingenuity  of  Polwarth  was  rewarded  by  a  burst 
of  loud  and  savage  laughter.  Encouraged  by  this  evidence  of 
his  power  over  his  auditors,  the  worthy  captain  proceeded  with 
an  increased  confidence  in  his  own  eloquence. 

"  On  that  glorious  day,"  he  continued,  gradually  warming 
with  his  subject,  "  many  a  gallant  gentleman  and  hundreds  of 
fearless  privates  met  their  fate.  Some  fell  in  open  and  manly 
fight,  and  according  to  the  chances  of  regular  warfare.  Some — 


356 


Lionel  Lincoln. 


he-e-m — some  liave  been  mutilated  ;  and  will  carry  tlie  marks 
of  their  glory  with  them  to  the  grave."  His  voice  grew  a  little 
thick  and  husky  as  he  proceeded ;  but,  shaking  off  his  weak- 
ness, he  ended  with  an  energy  that  he  intended  should  curdle 
the  heart  of  the  prisoner :  "  while,  fellow,  some  have  been 
murdered !" 

"  Blood  for  blood !"  was  heard  again  passing  its  fearful  round. 
Without  attempting  any  longer  to  repress  the  rising  spirit  of 
the  rioters,  Polwarth  continued,  his  interrogatories,  entirely  led 
away  by  the  strength  of  his  own  feelings  on  this  sensitive 
subject. 

"  Kemember  you  such  a  man  as  Dennis  M'Fuse  ?"  he  demanded 
in  a  voice  of  thunder ;  "  he  that  was  treacherously  slain  in  your 
inmost  trenches,  after  the  day  was  won !  Answer  me,  knave, 
were  you  not  among  the  rabble,  and  did  not  your  own  vile  hand 
the  bloody  deed  ?" 

A  few  words  were  heard  from  Job,  in  a  low,  muttering  tone, 
of  which  only  "  the  rake-helhes,"  and  "  the  people  will  teach  'em 
the  law !"  were  sufficiently  distinct  to  be  understood. 

"  Murder  him !  part  him  sowl  from  body !"  exclaimed  the 
fiercest  of  the  grenadiers. 

"  Hold,"  cried  Polwarth  ;  "  but  one  moment  more — I  would 
relieve  my  mind  from  the  debt  I  owe  his  memory.  Speak,  fel- 
low ;  what  know  you  of  the  death  of  the  commander  of  these 
brave  grenadiers  ?" 

Job,  who  had  listened  to  his  words  attentively,  though  his 
uneasy  eyes  still  continued  to  watch  the  slightest  movements  of 
his  foes,  now  turned  to  the  speaker  with  a  look  of  foolish  triumph, 
and  answered — 

"  The  18th  came  up  the  hill,  shouting  like  roaring  lions !  but 
the  Royal  Irish  had  a  death-howl,  that  evening,  over  their  tallest 
man  !" 

Polwarth  trembled  with  the  violence  of  the  passions  that  beset 
liim ;  but,  while  with  one  hand  he  motioned  to  the  men  to  keep 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


S51 


back,  with  the  other  he  produced  the  battered  gorget  from  his 
pocket,  and  held  it  before  the  eyes  of  the  simpleton. 

"  Know  you  this  ?"  he  demanded ;  "  who  sent  the  bullet 
through  this  fatal  hole  f ' 

Job  took  the  ornament,  and  for  a  moment  regarded  it  with 
an  unconscious  look.  But  his  countenance  gradually  lighting 
with  a  ray  of  unusual  meaning,  he  laughed  in  scornful  exulta- 
tion, as  he  answered — 

"  Though  Job  is  a  fool,  he  can  shoot !" 

Polwarth  started  back  aghast,  while  the  fierce  resentments  of 
his  ruder  listeners  broke  through  all  restraint.  They  raised  a 
loud  and  savage  shout,  as  one  man,  filling  the  building  with 
hoarse  execrations  and  cries  for  vengeance.  Twenty  expedients 
to  destroy  their  captive  were  named  in  a  breath,  and  with  all 
the  characteristic  vehemence  of  their  nation.  Most  of  them 
would  have  been  irregularly  adopted,  had  not  the  man  who  at- 
tended the  burning  hemp  caught  up  a  bundle  of  the  flaming 
combustible,  and  shouted  aloud — 

"  Smodder  him  in  the  fiery  flames ! — he's  an  imp  of  darkness ; 
burren  him  in  his  rags  from  before  the  face  of  man !" 

The  barbarous  proposition  was  received  with  a  sort  of  frenzied 
joy,  and  in  another  moment  a  dozen  handfuls  of  the  oakum  were 
impending  above  the  devoted  head  of  the  helpless  lad.  Job 
made  a  feeble  attempt  to  avert  the  dreadful  fate  that  threatened 
him,  but  he  could  offer  no  other  resistance  than  his  own  weak- 
ened arm,  and  the  abject  moanings  of  his  impotent  mind.  He 
was  enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  black  smoke,  through  which  the 
forked  flames  had  already  begun  to  play,  when  a  woman  burst 
into  the  throng,  casting  the  fiery  combustibles  from  her,  on 
either  side,  as  she  advanced,  with  a  strength  that  seemed  super- 
natural. When  she  had  reached  the  bed,  she  tore  aside  the 
smoking  pile  with  hands  that  disregarded  the  heat,  and  placed 
herself  before  the  victim,  like  a  fierce  lioness  at  bay,  in  defence 
of  her  whelps.    In  this  attitude  she  stood  an  instant,  regarding 


358 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


the  rioters  witli  a  breast  that  heaved  with  passions  too  strong 
for  utterance,  when  she  found  her  tongue,  and  vented  her  emo- 
tions with  all  the  fearlessness  of  a  woman's  indignation. 

"  Ye  monsters  in  the  shape  of  men,  what  is't  ye  do she  ex- 
claimed in  a  voice  that  rose  above  the  tumult,  and  had  the  effect 
to  hush  every  mouth.  "  Have  ye  bodies  without  hearts  !  the 
forms  without  the  bowels  of  the  creatures  of  God !  Who  made 
you  judges  and  punishers  of  sins  !  Is  there  a  father  among 
you,  let  him  come  and  view  the  anguish  of  a  dying  child !  Is 
there  a  son,  let  him  draw  near,  and  look  upon  a  mother's  sor- 
row !  Oh !  ye  savages,  worse  than  the  beasts  of  the  howling 
wilderness,  who  have  mercy  on  their  kinds,  what  is't  ye  do — 
what  is't  ye  do  1" 

The  air  of  maternal  intrepidity  with  which  this  burst  from 
the  heart  was  uttered,  could  not  fail  to  awe  the  worst  passions 
of  the  rioters,  who  gazed  on  each  other  in  stupid  wonder,  as  if 
uncertain  how  to  act.  The  hushed  and  momentary  stillness 
was,  however,  soon  broken  once  more  by  the  low,  murmuring 
threat  of  "  Blood  for  blood  !" 

"  Cowards !  dastards !  soldiers  in  name,  and  demons  in  your 
deeds  !"  continued  the  undaunted  Abigail ;  "  come  ye  here  to 
taste  of  human  blood  ?  Go — away  with  you  to  the  hills !  and 
face  the  men  of  the  Bay,  who  stand  ready  to  meet  you  with 
arms  in  their  hands,  and  come  not  hither  to  bruise  the  broken 
reed !  Poor,  suffering,  and  stricken  as  he  is,  by  a  hand  far 
mightier  than  yours,  my  child  will  meet  you  there,  to  your 
shame,  in  the  cause  of  his  country,  and  the  law !" 

This  taunt  was  too  bitter  for  the  unnurtured  tempers  to  which 
she  appealed,  and  the  dying  spark  of  their  resentment  was  at 
once  kindled  into  a  blaze  by  the  galling  gibe. 

The  rioters  were  again  in  motion,  and  the  cry  of  "  Burn  the 
hag  and  the  imp  together !"  was  fiercely  raised,  when  a  man  of 
a  stout,  muscular  frame  forced  his  way  into  the  centre  of  the 
crowd,  making  room  for  the  passage  of  a  female,  whose  gait 
and  attire,  though  her  person  was  concealed  by  her  mantle, 


1.10NEL  LINCOLN. 


359 


announced  her  to  be  of  a  rank  altogether  superior  to  the  usual 
guests  of  the  warehouse.  The  unexpected  appearance,  and 
lofty,  though  gentle  bearing  of  this  unlooked-for  visitor,  served 
to  quell  the  rising  uproar  which  was  immediately  succeeded  by 
so  deep  a  silence,  that  a  whisper  could  have  been  heard  in  that 
throng,  which  so  lately  resounded  with  violent  tumult  and  bar- 
barous execrations. 


3C0 


LIONEL  LINCOiy. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

"Ay,  sir,  you  shall  find  me  reasonable ;  if  it  be  so,  I  shall  do  Uiat  that  is  reason." 

Slender. 

During  tlie  close  of  the  foregoing  scene,  Polwarth  was  in  a 
bewildered  state,  that  rendered  him  utterly  incapable  of  exer- 
tion, either  to  prevent  or  to  assist  the  evil  intentions  of  the  soldiery. 
His  discretion  and  all  his  better  feelings  were  certainly  on  the  side 
of  humanity,  but  the  idle  vaunt  of  the  simpleton  had  stirred 
anew  the  natural  thirst  for  vengeance.  He  recognized,  at  the 
first  glance,  in  the  wan  but  speaking  lineaments  of  the  mother 
of  Job,  those  faded  remnants  of  beauty  that  he  had  traced,  so 
lately,  m  the  squalid  female  attendant  who  was  seen  lingering 
near  the  grave  of  Mrs.  Lechmere.  As  she  rushed  before  the 
men,  with  all  the  fearlessness  of  a  mother  who  stood  in  defence 
of  her  child,  the  brightness  of  her  dark  eyea,  aided  as  they 
were  by  the  strong  glare  from  the  scattered  balls  of  fire,  and 
the  intense  expression  of  maternal  horror  that  shone  in  every 
feature  of  her  countenance,  had  imparted  to  her  appearance  a 
dignity  and  interest  that  greatly  served  to  quell  the  unusual 
and  dangerous  passions  that  beset  him.  He  was  on  the  point 
of  aiding  her  appeal  by  his  authority  and  advice,  when  the 
second  interruption  to  the  brutal  purpose  of  the  men  occuired, 
as  just  related.  The  effect  of  this  strange  appearance,  in  such 
a  place,  and  at  such  a  time,  was  not  less  instant  on  the  captain 
than  on  the  vulgar  throng  who  surrounded  him.  He  remained 
a  silent  and  an  attentive  spectator. 

The  first  sensation  of  the  lady  in  finding  herself  in  the  centre 
of  such  a  confused  and  unexpected  throng,  was  unequivocally 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


301 


that  of  an  alarmed  and  shrinking  delicacy  ;  but,  forgetting  her 
womanish  apprehensions  in  the  next  moment,  she  collected  the 
powers  of  her  mind,  like  one  sustained  by  high  and  laudable 
intentions,  and  dropping  the  silken  folds  of  her  calash,  exhibited 
the  pale,  hnt  lovely  countenance  of  Cecil  to  the  view  of  the 
wondering  bystanders.  After  a  moment  of  profound  silence, 
she  spoke — 

"  I  know  not  v/hy  I  find  this  fierce  collection  of  faces  around 
the  sick-bed  of  that  unfortunate  young  man,"  she  said ;  "  but  if 
it  be  with  evil  purpose,  I  charge  you  to  relent,  as  you  love  the 
honor  of  your  gallant  profession,  or  fear  the  power  of  your 
leaders.  I  boast  myself  a  soldier's  wife,  and  promise  you,  in 
the  name  of  one  who  has  the  ear  of  Howe,  pardon  for  what  is 
past,  or  punishment  for  your  violence,  as  you  conduct  your- 
selves." 

The  rude  listeners  stared  at  each  other  in  irresolute  hesitation, 
seeming  already  to  waver  in  their  purpose,  when  the  old  grena- 
dier, whose  fierceness  had  so  nearly  cost  Job  his  life,  gruffly 
replied — 

"  If  you're  an  officer's  lady,  madam,  you'll  be  knowing  how 
to  feel  for  the  fri'nds  of  him  that's  dead  and  gone.  I  put  it 
to  the  face  of  your  ladyship's  reason,  if  it's  not  too  much  for 
men  to  bear, — and  they  such  men  as  the  18ths, — to  hear  a  fool 
boasting  on  the  highways  and  through  the  streets  of  the  town, 
that  he  has  been  the  death  of  the  like  of  Captain  M'Fuse,  of 
the  grenadiers  of  that  same  radg'ment  I" 

"  I  believe  I  understand  you,  friend,"  returned  Cecil,  "for  I 
have  heard  it  whispered  that  the  young  man  was  believed  to 
aid  the  Americans  on  the  bloody  day  to  which  you  allude — but 
if  it  is  not  lawful  to  kill  in  battle,  what  are  you,  whose  whole 
trade  is  war  f 

She  was  interrupted  by  half-a-dozen  eager,  though  respectful 
voices,  muttering,  in  the  incoherent  and  vehement  manner  of 
their  country,  "  It's  all  a  difference,  my  lady  !" — "  Fair  fighting 
isn't  foul  fighting,  and  foul  fighting  is  murder  !"-^with  many 

1§ 


302 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


other  similar  half-formed  and  equally  intelligible  remonstrances. 
When  this  bm^st  was  ended,  the  same  grenadier,  who  had  be- 
fore spoken,  took  on  himself  the  office  of  explaining. 

"  If  your  ladyship  spoke  never  a  word  again,  yeVe  said  the 
truth  this  time,"  he  answered,  "  though  it  isn't  exactly  the 
truth  at  all.  When  a  man  is  kill't  in  the  fair  war,  it's  a  god- 
send ;  and  no  true  Irishman  will  gainsay  the  same :  but  skulk- 
ing behind  a  dead  body,  and  taking  aim  into  the  f 'atures  of  a 
fellow-creature,  is  what  we  complain  of  against  the  bloody- 
minded  rascal.  Besides,  wasn't  the  day  won  ?  and  even  his 
death  couldn't  give  them  the  victory  !" 

"  I  know  not  all  these  nice  distinctions  in  your  dreadful  call- 
ing, friend,"  Cecil  rephed,  "  but  I  have  heard  that  many  fell 
after  the  troops  mounted  the  works." 

"  That  did  they  ;  sure  your  ladyship  is  knowing  all  about  it ! 
and  it's  the  more  need  that  some  should  be  punished  for  the 
murders  !  It's  hard  to  tell  when  we've  got  the  day  with  men 
who  make  a  fight  of  it  after  they  are  fairly  baitin !" 

"  That  others  suffered  under  similar  circumstances,"  continued 
Cecil,  with  a  quivering  lip,  and  a  tremulous  motion  of  her  eye- 
lids, "I  well  know;  but  had  never  supposed  it  more  than  the 
usual  fortune  of  every  war.  But  even  if  this  youth  has  erred 
— look  at  him  ! — is  he  an  object  for  the  resentment  of  men, 
who  pride  themselves  on  meeting  their  enemies  on  equal  terms  ? 
He  has  long  been  visited  by  ^  blow  from  a  hand  far  mightier 
than  yours,  and  even  now  is  laboring,  in  addition  to  all  other 
misfortunes,  under  that  dangerous  distemper,  whose  violence 
seldom  spares  those  it  seizes.  Nay,  you,  in  the  blindness  of  your 
anger,  expose  yourselves  to  its  attacks  ;  and  when  you  think  only 
of  revenge,  may  become  its  victims  1" 

The  crowd  insensibly  fell  back  as  she  spoke,  and  a  large  cir- 
cle was  left  around  the  bed  of  Job,  while  many  in  the  rear  stole 
silently  from  the  building,  with  a  haste  that  betrayed  how  com- 
pletely apprehension  had  got  the  better  of  their  more  evil  pas- 
sions,   Cecil  paused  but  an  instant,  and  pursued  her  advantage. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


363 


"  Go,"  she  said ;  "  leave  tliis  dangerous  vicinity.  I  have  busi- 
ness with  this  young  man,  touching  the  interests,  if  not  the  life, 
of  one  dear,  deservedly  dear,  to  the  whole  army,  and  would  bo 
left  alone  with  him  and  his  mother.  Here  is  money — retire 
to  your  ow^n  quarters,  and  endeavor  to  avert  the  danger  you 
have  so  wantonly  braved,  by  care  and  regimen.  Go  ;  all  shall 
be  forgotten  and  pardoned." 

The  reluctant  grenadier  took  her  gold,  and,  perceiving  that 
he  w^as  already  deserted  by  most  of  his  companions,  he  made 
an  awkward  obeisance  to  the  fair  being  before  him,  and  with- 
drew, not  without,  however,  casting  many  a  savage  and  sullen 
glance  at  the  miserable  wretch  who  had  been  thus  singularly 
rescued  from  his  vengeance.  Not  a  soldier  now  remained  in 
the .  building  ;  and  the  noisy  and  rapid  utterance  of  the  retiring 
party,  as  each  vehemently  recounted  his  deeds,  soon  became  in- 
audible in  the  distance. 

Cecil  then  turned  to  those  who  remained,  and  cast  a  rapid 
glance  at  each  individual  of  the  party.  The  instant  she  en- 
countered the  wondering  look  of  Polwarth  the  blood  mantled 
her  pale  features  once  more,  and  her  eyes  fell,  for  an  instant,  in 
embarrassment  to  the  floor. 

"  I  trust  w^e  have  been  drawn  here  for  a  similar  purpose.  Cap- 
tain Polwarth,"  she  said,  when  the  shght  confusion  had  passed 
away — "  the  welfare  of  a  common  friend  ?" 

"  You  have  not  done  me  injustice,"  he  rephed.  "  When  the 
sad  office,  which  your  fair  cousin  charged  me  with,  was  ended, 
I  hastened  hither  to  follow  a  clue  which,  I  have  reason  to  be- 
lieve, will  conduct  us  to — " 

"  What  we  most  desire  to  find,"  said  Cecil,  involuntarily 
glancing  her  anxious  eyes  towards  the  other  spectators.  "  But 
our  first  duty  is  humanity.  Cannot  this  miserable  young  man 
be  reconveyed  to  his  own  apartment,  and  have  his  hurts  ex- 
amined ?" 

"  It  may  be  done  now,  or  after  our  examination,"  returned 
the  captain,  with  a  cool  indifierence  that  caused  Cecil  to  look  up 


864 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


at  him  in  surprise.  Perceiving  tlie  unfavorable  impression  liis 
apathy  had  produced,  Polwarth  turned  carelessly  to  a  couple  of 
men  who  were  still  curious  lookers-on,  at  the  outer  door  of  the 
building,  and  called  to  them — "  Here,  Shearflint,  Meriton,  re- 
move the  fellow  into  yonder  room." 

The  servants  in  w^aiting,  who  had  been  hitherto  wondering 
witnesses  of  all  that  passed,  received  this  mandate  with  strong- 
disgust.  Meriton  was  loud  in  his  murmurs,  and  approached  the 
verge  of  disobedience  before  he  consented  to  touch  such  an 
object  of  squalid  misery.  As  Cecil,  however,  enforced  the  order 
by  her  wishes,  the  disagreeable  duty  was  performed,  and  Job 
replaced  on  his  pallet  in  the  tower,  from  which  he  had  been 
rudely  dragged,  an  hour  before,  by  the  soldiers. 

At  the  moment  when  all  danger  of  further  violence  disap- 
peared, Abigail  had  sunk  on  some  of  the  lumber  of  the  apart- 
ment, where  she  remained  during  the  removal  of  her  child,  in  a 
sort  of  stupid  apathy.  When,  however,  she  perceived  that  they 
were  now  surrounded  by  those  who  were  bent  on  deeds  of 
mercy  rather  than  of  anger,  she  slowly  followed  into  the  little 
room,  and  became  an  anxious  observer  of  the  succeeding 
events. 

Polwarth  seemed  satisfied  with  what  had  been  done  for  Job^ 
and  now  stood  aloof,  in  sullen  attendance  on  the  pleasure  of 
Cecil.  The  latter,  who  had  directed  every  movement  with  fe- 
male tenderness  and  care,  bade  the  servants  retire  into  the  outer 
room,  and  wait  her  orders.  When  Abigail,  therefore,  took  her 
place,  in  silence,  near  the  bed  of  her  child,  there  remained 
present,  besides  herself  and  the  sick,  only  Cecil,  the  captain,  and 
the  unknown  man,  who  had  apparently  led  the  former  to  the 
warehouse.  In  addition  to  the  expiring  flames  of  the  oakum, 
the  feeble  light  of  a  candle  was  shed  through  the  room,  merely 
rendering  the  gloomy  misery  of  its  tenants  more  striking. 

Notwithstanding  the  high  but  calm  resolution  which  Cecil 
had  displayed  in  the  foregoing  scene  with  the  rioters,  and  which 
&till  manifested  itself  in  the  earnest  brightness  of  her  intelligent 


LIONEL    LINCOLN.  SG5 

eye,  slie  appeared  willing  to  profit  by  the  duskiness  of  the  apart- 
ment, to  conceal  her  expressive  features  from  the  gaze  of  even 
the  forlorn  female.  She  placed  herself  in  one  of  the  shadows 
of  the  room,  and  partly  raised  the  calash,  by  a  graceful 
movement  of  one  of  her  hands,  while  she  addressed  the  sim- 
pleton. 

"  Though  I  have  not  come  hither  with  any  intent  to  punish, 
nor  in  any  manner  to  intimidate  you  with  threats.  Job  Pray," 
she  said,  with  an  earnestness  that  rendered  the  soft  tones  of  her 
voice  doubly  impressive — "  yet  have  I  come  to  question  you  on 
matters  that  it  would  be  wTong,  as  well  as  cruel  in  you,  to  mis- 
represent, or  in  any  manner  to  conceal — " 

"  You  have  little  cause  to  fear  that  any  thing  but  the  truth 
will  be  uttered  by  my  child,"  interrupted  Abigail.  "  The  same 
power  that  destroyed  his  reason,  has  dealt  tenderly  with  his 
heart — the  boy  knows  no  guile  :  would  to  God  the  same  could 
be  said  of  the  sinful  woman  who  bore  him  !" 

"  I  hope  the  character  you  give  your  son  will  be  supported 
by  his  conduct,"  replied  Cecil :  "  with  this  assurance  of  his  in- 
tegrity, I  will  directly  question  him.  But  that  you  may  see  I 
take  no  idle  liberty  with  the  young  man,  let  me  explain  my 
motives."  She  hesitated  a  moment,  and  averted  her  face  uncon- 
sciously, as  she  continued — "  I  should  think,  Abigail  Pray,  that 
ray  person  must  be  known  to  you  ?" 

"  It  is — it  is,"  returned  the  impatient  woman,  who  appeared 
to  feel  the  feminine  and  polished  elegance  of  the  other  a  re- 
proach to  her  own  misery — "  you  are  the  happy  and  wealthy 
heiress  of  her  whom  I  have  seen  this  day  laid  in  her  vault.  The 
grave  will  open  for  all  alike — the  rich  and  the  poor,  the  happy 
as  well  as  the  wretched  !  Yes— yes,  I  know  you  !  you  are  the 
bride  of  a  rich  man's  son  I" 

Cecil  shook  back  the  dark  tresses  that  had  fallen  about  her 
countenance,  and  raised  her  face,  tinged  with  its  richest  bloom, 
as  she  answered,  with  an  air  of  matronly  dignity — 

"  If  you  then  know  of  my  marriage,  you  will  at  once  perceive 


366 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


that  I  have  the  interest  of  a  wife  in  Major  Lincoln — I  would 
wish  to  learn  his  movements  of  your  son." 

"  Of  my  boy  !  of  Job  !  from  the  poor  despised  child  of  pov- 
erty and  disease,  would  you  learn  tidings  of  your  husband  ? — 
no — no,  young  lady,  you  mock  us  ;  he  is  not  worthy  to  be  in 
the  secrets  of  one  so  great  and  happy  1" 

"  Yet  am  I  deceived  if  he  is  not.  Has  there  not  been  ono 
called  Ralph,  a  frequent  inmate  of  your  dwelling,  during  the 
past  year ;  and  has  he  not  been  concealed  here  within  a  very 
few  hours 

Abigail  started  at  this  question,  though  she  did  not  hesitate 
to  answer  without  prevarication — 

"  It  is  true.  If  I  am  to  be  punished  for  harboring  a  being 
that  comes  I  know  whence,  and  goes  I  know  whither,  who  can 
read  the  heart,  and  knows  what  man,  by  his  own  hmited  pow- 
ers, could  never  know,  I  must  submit.  He  was  here  yesterday ; 
he  may  be  here  again  to-night ;  for  he  comes  and  goes  at  will. 
Your  generals  and  army  may  interfere,  but  such  as  I  dare  not 
forbid  it." 

""Who  accompanied  him  when  he  departed  last?"  asked 
Cecil,  in  a  voice  so  low  that,  but  for  the  profound  stillness  of  the 
place,  it  would  have  been  inaudible. 

"  My  child — my  weak,  unmeaning,  miserable  child !"  said 
Abigail,  with  a  reckless  promptitude  that  seemed  to  court  any 
termination  to  her  misery,  however  sudden  or  adverse.  "  If  it 
be  treasonable  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  that  nameless  man, 
Job  has  much  to  answer  for  !" 

"  You  mistake  my  purpose — good,  rather  than  evil,  will  attend 
your  answers,  should  they  be  found  true." 

"  True  !"  repeated  the  woman,  ceasing  the  rocking  motion  of 
her  body,  and  looking  proudly  up  into  the  anxious  face  of  Cecil — • 
"  but  you  are  great  and  powerful,  and  are  privileged  to  open 
the  wounds  of  the  unhappy  !" 

"  If  I  have  said  any  thing  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  a  child,  I 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


867 


Bhall  deeply  regret  the  words,"  said  Cecil,  with  gentle  fervor — 
"  I  would  rather  be  your  friend  than  your  oppressor,  as  you  will 
learn  when  occasion  offers." 

"  No — no — you  can  never  be  a  friend  to  me  /"  exclaimed  the 
woman,  shuddering ;  "  the  wife  of  Major  Lincoln  ought  never 
to  serve  the  interests  of  Abigail  Pray  1" 

The  simpleton,  who  had  apparently  lain  in  dull  indifference 
to  what  was  passing,  raised  himself  now  from  among  his  rags, 
and  said,  with  foolish  pride — 

"  Major  Lincoln's  lady  has  come  to  see  Job,  because  Job  is  a 
gentleman's  son !" 

"  You  are  the  child  of  sin  and  misery  1"  groaned  Abigail, 
burying  her  head  in  her  cloak — "  would  that  you  had  never 
seen  the  light  of  day !" 

"  Tell  me,  then.  Job,  whether  Major  Lincoln  himself  has  paid 
you  this  compliment,  as  well  as  I,"  said  Cecil,  without  regarding 
the  conduct  of  the  mother — "  when  did  you  see  him  last  ?" 

"  Perhaps  I  can  put  these  questions  in  a  more  intelligible 
manner,"  said  the  stranger,  with  a  meaning  glance  of  his  eye 
towards  Cecil,  that  she  appeared  instantly  to  comprehend.  He 
turned  then  to  Job,  whose  countenance  he  studied  closely,  for 
several  moments,  before  he  continued — "  Boston  must  be  a  fine 
place  for  parades  and  shows,  young  man ;  do  you  ever  go  to 
see  the  soldiers  exercise  ?" 

"Job  always  keeps  time  in  the  marchings,"  returned  the 
simpleton ;  "  'tis  a  grand  sight  to  see  the  grannies  treading  it 
off  to  the  awful  sound  of  drums  and  trumpets !" 

"And  Ralph,"  said  the  other,  soothingly — "does  he  march  in 
their  company  too  ?" 

"  Ralph !  he's  a  great  warrior !  he  teaches  the  people  their 
trainings,  out  on  the  hills — Job  sees  him  there  every  time  he 
goes  for  the  major's  provisions." 

"  This  requires  some  explanation,"  said  the  stranger. 

^  'Tis  easily  obtained,"  returned  the  observant  Polwarth.  "  The 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


young  man  has  been  tlie  bearer  of  certain  articles,  periodicalljj 
from  the  country  into  the  town,  during  the  last  six  months, 
under  the  favor  of  a  flag." 

The  man  mused  a  moment  before  he  pursued  the  subject. 

"  When  were  you  last  among  the  rebels,  Job  ?"  he  at  length 
asked. 

"  You  had  best  not  call  the  people  rebels,"  muttered  the  young 
man,  sullenly,  "  for  they  won't  put  up  wdth  bitter  names." 

"  I  was  wrong  indeed,"  said  the  stranger.  "  But  when  went 
you  last  for  provisions  ?" 

"Job  got  in  last  Sabba'day  morning;  and  that's  only  yes- 
terday !" 

"  How  happened  it,  fellow,  that  you  did  not  bring  the  articles 
to  me?"  demanded  Polwarth,  with  a  good  deal  of  impatient 
heat. 

"  He  has  unquestionably  a  sufficient  reason  for  the  apparent 
neglect,"  said  the  cautious  and  soothing  stranger.  "You 
brought  them  here,  I  suppose,  for  some  good  reason  ?" 

"Ay!  to  feed  his  own  gluttony!"  muttered  the  irritated 
captain. 

The  mother  of  the  young  man  clasped  her  hands  together 
comoilsively,  and  made  an  effort  to  rise  and  speak;  but  she 
sunk  again  into  her  humble  posture,  as  if  choked  by  emotions 
that  were  too  strong  for  utterance. 

This  short,  but  impressive  pantomime  was  unnoticed  by  the 
stranger,  who  continued  his  inquiries  in  the  same  cool  and  easy 
manner  as  before. 

Are  they  yet  here  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Certain,"  said  the  unsuspecting  simpleton ;  "  Job  has  hid 
them  till  Major  Lincoln  comes  back.  Both  Ealph  and  Major 
Lincoln  forgot  to  tell  Job  what  to  do  with  the  provisions." 

"  In  that  case  I  am  surprised  you  did  not  pursue  them  with 
your  load." 

"  Everybody  thinks  Job's  a  fool,"  muttered  the  young  man ; 
"but  he  knows  too  much  to  be  lugging  provisions  out  ag'in 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


among  che  people.  Why lie  continued,  raising  himself,  and 
speaking,  with  a  bright  glare  dancing  across  his  eyes,  that 
betrayed  how  much  he  prized  the  envied  advantage — "the 
Bay-men  come  down  with  cart-loads  of  things  to  eat,  while  the 
town  is  filled  with  hunger !" 

"  True ;  I  had  forgotten  they  were  gone  out  among  tho 
Americans :  of  course  they  went  under  the  flag  that  you 
bore  in  V 

"Job  didn't  bring  any  flag — insygns  carry  the  flags!  He 
brought  a  turkey,  a  grand  ham,  and  a  little  sa'ce — there  wasn't 
any  flag  among  them." 

At  the  sound  of  these  eatables,  the  captain  pricked  up  his 
ears,  and  he  probably  would  have  again  violated  the  rigid  rules 
of  decorum,  had  not  the  stranger  continued  his  questions. 

see  the  truth  of  all  you  say,  my  sensible  fellow,"  he 
observed.  "It  was  easy  for  Ealph  and  Major  Lincoln  to  go 
out  by  means  of  the  same  privilege  that  you  used  to  enter." 

"  To  be  sure,"  muttered  Job,  who,  tired  of  the  questions,  had 
already  dropped  his  head  again  among  his  blankets — "  Ralph 
knows  the  way — he's  Boston  born !" 

The  stranger  turned  to  the  attentive  bride,  and  bowed,  as  if 
he  were  satisfied  with  the  result  of  his  examination.  Cecil 
understood  the  expression  of  his  countenance,  and  made  a 
movement  towards  the  place  where  Abigail  Pray  was  seated  on 
a  chest,  betraying,  by  the  renewed  rocking  of  her  body,  and  the 
low  groans  that  from  time  to  time  escaped  her,  the  agony  of 
mind  she  endured. 

"My  first  care,"  she  said,  speaking  to  the  mother  of  Job, 
"  shall  be  to  provide  for  your  wants ;  after  which  I  may  profit 
by  what  we  have  now  gathered  from  your  son." 

"  Care  not  for  me  and  mine !"  returned  Abigail,  in  a  tone  of 
bitter  resignation.  "  The  last  blow  is  struck,  and  it  behooves 
such  as  we  to  bow  our  heads  to  it  in  submission.  Riches  and 
plenty  could  not  save  your  grandmother  from  the  tomb,  and 
perhaps  Death  may  take  pity,  ere  long,  on  me.    What  do  I 


370 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


say,  sinner  that  I  am !  can  I  never  bring  my  rebellious  lieart  W 
wait  his  time !" 

Shocked  at  the  miserable  despair  that  the  other  exhibited, 
and  suddenly  recollecting  the  similar  evidences  of  a  guilty  life 
that  the  end  of  Mrs.  Lechmere  had  revealed,  Cecil  continued 
silent,  in  sensitive  distress.  After  a  moment,  to  collect  her 
thoughts,  she  said,  with  the  meekness  of  a  Christian,  united  to 
the  soothing  gentleness  of  her  sex — 

"  We  are  surely  permitted  to  administer  to  our  earthly  wants, 
whatever  may  have  been  our  transgressions.  At  a  proper  time 
I  will  not  be  denied  in  my  wish  to  serve  you.  Let  us  now  go," 
she  added,  addressing  her  unknown  companion.  Then,  observ- 
ing Polwarth  making  an  indication  to  advance  to  her  assistance, 
she  gently  motioned  him  back,  and  anticipated  his  offer,  by 
saying,  "  I  thank  you,  sir — but  I  have  Meriton,  and  this  worthy 
man,  besides  my  own  maid  without — I  will  not  further  interfere 
with  your  particular  objects." 

As  she  spoke,  she  bestowed  a  melancholy,  though  sweet  smile 
on  the  captain,  and  left  the  tower  and  the  building,  before  he 
could  presume  to  dispute  her  pleasure.  Notwithstanding  Cecil 
and  her  companion  had  obtained  from  Job  all  that  he  could 
expect,  or  in  fact  had  desired  to  know,  Polwarth  lingered  in  the 
room,  making  those  preparations  that  should  indicate  an  inten- 
tion to  depart.  He  found,  at  length,  that  his  presence  was 
entirely  disregarded  by  both  mother  and  child.  The  one  was 
still  sitting,  with  her  head  bowed  to  her  bosom,  abandoned  to 
her  own  sorrows,  while  the  other  had  sunk  into  his  customary 
dull  lethargy,  giving  no  other  signs  ot  life  than  by  his  labored 
and  audible  breathing.  The  captain,  for  a  moment,  looked 
upon  the  misery  of  the  apartment,  which  wore  a  still  more 
dreary  aspect  under  the  dull  light  of  the  paltry  candle,  as  well 
as  at  the  disease  and  suffering  which  were  too  plainly  exhibited 
in  the  persons  of  its  abject  tenants ;  but  the  glance  at  neither 
served  to  turn  him  from  his  purpose.  Temptation  had  beset  the 
humble  follower  of  Epicurus,  in  a  form  that  never  failed  to  sub- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


due  his  most  philosopliio  resolutions;  and,  in  this  instance,  it 
prevailed  once  more  over  his  humanity.  Approaching  the  pal- 
let of  the  simpleton,  he  spoke  to  him  in  a  sharp  voice,  saying — 
"  You  must  reveal  to  me  what  you  have  done  with  the  pro- 
visions with  which  Mr.  Seth  Sage  has  intrusted  you,  young 
man — I  cannot  overlook  so  gross  a  violation  of  duty,  in  a  mat- 
ter of  such  singular  importance.  Unless  you  wish  to  have  the 
grannies  of  the  18th  back  upon  you,  speak  at  once,  and  speak 
truly." 

Job  continued  obstinately  silent,  but  Abigail  raised  her  head, 
and  answered  for  her  child — 

"  He  has  never  failed  to  carry  the  things  to  the  quarters  of 
the  major,  whenever  he  got  back.  No,  no — if  my  boy  was 
so  graceless  as  to  steal,  it  would  not  be  him  that  he  would  rob !" 

"  I  hope  so — I  hope  so,  good  woman  ;  but  this  is  a  sort  of 
temptation  to  which  men  yield  easily  in  times  of  scarcity,"  re- 
turned the  impatient  captain,  who  probably  felt  some  inward 
tokens  of  his  own  frailty  in  such  matters.  "  If  they  had  been 
delivered,  would  not  I  have  been  consulted  concerning  their 
disposition  ?  The  young  man  acknowledges  that  he  quitted 
the  American  camp  yesterday  at  an  early  hour." 

"  No,  no,"  said  Job ;  "  Kalph  made  him  come  away  on  Satur- 
da'-night.    He  left  the  people  without  his  dinner." 

"  And  repaid  his  loss  by  eating  the  stores !  Is  this  your 
honesty,  fellow  ?" 

"  Ralph  was  in  such  a  hurry  that  he  wouldn't  stop  to  eat. 
Ralph's  a  proper  warrior,  but  he  doesn't  seem  to  know  how 
sweet  it  is  to  eat !" 

"  Glutton  !  gormandizer  1  thou  ostrich  of  a  man  !"  exclaimed 
the  angry  Polwarth — is  it  not  enough  that  you  have  robbed 
me  of  my  own,  but  you  must  make  me  more  conscious  of  my 
loss  by  thy  silly  prating !" 

"  If  you  really  suspect  my  child  of  doing  wrong  to  his  em- 
ployers," said  Abigail,  "  you  know  neither  his  temper  nor  his 
breeding.    I  will  answer  for  him,  and  with  bitterness  of  heart 


372 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


do  I  say  it,  that  nothing  in  the  shape  of  food  has  entered  his 
mouth  for  many  long  and  weary  hours.  Hear  you  not  his 
piteous  longings  for  nourishment  ?  God,  who  knows  all  hearts, 
will  hear  and  believe  his  cry  1" 

"  What  say  you,  woman  ?"  cried  Polwarth,  aghast  with  hor- 
ror, "  not  eaten,  did  you  say  ? — Why  hast  thou  not,  unnatural 
mother,  provided  for  his  wants? — why  has  he  not  shared  in 
your  meals  ?" 

Abigail  looked  up  into  his  face  with  eyes  that  gleamed  with 
hopeless  want,  as  she  answered — 

"  Would  I  willingly  see  the  child  of  my  body  perish  of  hun- 
ger ?  The  last  crum  he  had  was  all  that  was  left  me,  and  that 
came  from  the  hands  of  one,  who,  in  better  justice,  should  have 
sent  me  poison  !" 

"  Nab  don't  know  of  the  bone  that  Job  found  before  the  bar- 
racks," said  the  young  man,  feebly;  "I  wonder  if  the  king 
knows  how  sweet  bones  are  ?" 

"And  the  provisions,  the  stores!"  cried  Polwarth,  nearly 
choking — "  foolish  boy,  what  hast  thou  done  with  the  pro- 
visions ?" 

"  J ob  knew  the  grannies  couldn't  find  them  under  that 
oakum,"  said  the  simpleton,  raising  himself  to  point  out  their 
place  of  concealment,  with  silly  exultation — "  when  Major  Lin- 
coln comes  back,  maybe  he'll  give  Nab  and  Job  the  bones  to 
pick !" 

Polwarth  was  no  sooner  made  acquainted  with  the  situation 
of  the  precious  stores,  than  he  tore  them  from  their  conceal- 
ment, with  the  violence  of  a  maniac.  As  he  separated  the 
articles  with  an  unsteady  hand,  he  rather  panted  than  breathed ; 
and  during  the  short  operation,  every  feature  in  his  honest  face 
w^as  working  with  extraordinary  emotion.  Now  and  then  he 
muttered  in  an  under  tone, — "  No  food !" — "  Suffering  of  inani- 
tion !"  or  some  such  expressive  exclamation,  that  sufficiently 
explained  the  current  of  his  thoughts.  When  all  was  fairly 
exposed,  he  shouted,  in  a  tremendous  voice — 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


372 


I     "  Sliearflint !  thou  rascal  !  Sliearflint — where  have  you  hid- 
den yourself?" 

The  reluctant  menial  knew  how  dangerous  it  was  to  hesitate 
answering  a  summons  uttered  in  such  a  voice,  and  while  his  mas- 
ter was  yet  repeating  his  cries,  he  appeared  at  the  door  of  the 
little  apartment,  with  a  face  expressive  of  the  deepest  attention. 

"  Light  up  the  fire,  thou  prince  of  idlers  !"  Polwarth  con- 
tinued in  the  same  high  strain ;  "  here  is  food,  and  there  is 
hunger  !  God  be  praised  that  I  am  the  man  who  is  permitted 
to  bring  the  two  acquainted  !  Here,  throw  on  oakum — light 
up,  light  up !" 

As  these  rapid  orders  were  accompanied  by  a  corresponding 
earnestness  of  action,  the  servant,  who  knew  his  master  s  humor, 
set  himself  most  diligently  at  work  to  comply.  A  pile  of  the 
tarred  combustible  was  placed  on  the  dreary  and  empty  hearth, 
and  by  a  touch  of  the  candle,  it  was  hghted  into  a  blaze.  As 
the  roar  of  the  chimney  and  the  bright  glare  were  heard  and 
seen,  the  mother  and  child  both  turned  their  longing  eyes  to- 
wards the  busy  actors  in  the  scene.  Polwarth  threw  aside  his 
cane,  and  commenced  slicing  the  ham  with  a  dexterity  that 
denoted  great  practice,  as  well  as  an  eagerness  that  renewed  the 
credit  of  his  disgraced  humanity. 

"Bring  wood — hand  down  that  apology  for  a  gridiron — 
make  coals,  make  coals  at  once,  rascal,"  he  said,  at  short  inter- 
vals :  "  God  forgive  me,  that  I  should  ever  have  meditated  evil 
to  one  suffering  under  the  heaviest  of  curses  !  D'ye  hear,  thou 
Shearllint !  bring  more  wood  ;  I  shall  be  ready  for  the  fire  in  a 
minute." 

"  'Tis  impossible,  sir,"  said  the  worried  domestic ;  "  I  have 
brought  the  smallest  chip  there  is  to  be  found — wood  is  too 
.  precious  in  Boston  to  be  lying  in  the  streets." 

"  Where  do  you  keep  your  fuel,  woman  ?"  demanded  the 
captain,  unconscious  that  he  addressed  her  in  the  same  rough 
strain  that  he  used  to  his  menial — "  I  am  ready  to  put  down." 

"  You  see  it  all !  you  see  it  all !"  said  Abigail,  in  the  submis- 


374 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


give  tones  of  a  stricken  conscience;  tlie  judgment  of  God  lias 
not  fallen  on  me  singly  !" 

"  No  wood  !  no  provisions !"  exclaimed  Polwarth,  speaking 
with  difficulty — then,  dashing  his  hand  across  his  eyes,  he  con- 
tinued to  his  man,  in  a  voice  whose  hoarseness  he  intended 
should  conceal  his  emotion — "  thou  villain,  Shearflint,  come 
hither — unstrap  my  leg." 

The  servant  looked  at  him  in  wonder,  but  an  impatient 
gesture  hastened  his  compliance. 

"  Split  it  into  ten  thousand  fragments  ;  'tis  seasoned  and 
ready  for  the  fire.  The  best  of  them,  they  of  flesh  I  mean,  are 
but  useless  incumbrances,  after  all !  A  cook  wants  hands,  eyes, 
nose,  and  palate,  but  I  see  no  use  for  a  leg !" 

While  he  was  speaking,  the  philosophic  caj)tain  seated  him- 
self on  the  hearth  with  great  indifference,  and,  by  the  aid  of 
Shearflint,  the  culinary  process  was  soon  in  a  state  of  forwardness. 

"  There  are  people,"  resumed  the  diligent  Polwarth,  who  did 
not  neglect  his  avocation  while  speaking,  "  that  eat  but  twice  a- 
day ;  and  some  who  eat  but  once ;  though  I  never  knew  any 
man  thrive  who  did  not  supply  nature  in  four  substantial  and 
regular  meals.  These  sieges  are  damnable  visitations  on  hu- 
manity, and  there  should  be  plans  invented  to  conduct  a  war 
without  them.  The  moment  you  begin  to  starve  a  soldier,  he 
grows  tame  and  melancholy :  feed  him,  and  defy  the  devil  I 
How  is  it,  my  worthy  fellow  ?  do  you  like  your  ham  running 
or  dry  ?" 

The  savory  smell  of  the  meat  had  caused  the  suffering  invalid 
to  raise  his  feverish  body,  and  he  sat  watching,  with  greedy 
looks,  every  movement  of  his  unexpected  benefactor.  His 
parched  hps  were  already  working  with  impatience,  and  every 
glance  of  his  glassy  eye  betrayed  the  absolute  dominion  of 
physical  want  over  his  feeble  mind.  To  this  question  he  made 
the  simple  and  touching  reply  of — 
Job  isn't  particular  in  his  eating." 

"Neither  am  I,"  returned  the  methodical  gourmand,  return- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


ing  a  piece  of  tlie  meat  to  the  fire,  tliat  Job  had  already  devoured 
in  imagination  :  "  one  would  like  to  get  it  up  well,  notwith- 
standing the  hurry.  A  single  turn  more,  and  it  will  be  fit  for  the 
mouth  of  a  prince.  Bring  hither  that  trencher,  Shearflint — it 
is  idle  to  be  particular  about  crockery  in  so  pressing  a  case. 
Greasy  scoundrel,  would  you  dish  a  ham  in  its  gravy  ?  What 
a  nosegay  it  is,  after  all !    Come  hither  ;  help  me  to  the  bed." 

"  May  the  Lord,  who  sees  and  notes  each  kind  thought  of  his 
creatures,  bless  and  reward  you  for  this  cafe  of  my  forlorn  boy  I" 
exclaimed  Abigail,  in  the  fulness  of  her  heart.  "  But  will  it  be 
prudent  to  give  such  strong  nourishment  to  one  in  a  burning 
fever?" 

"  What  else  would  you  give,  woman  ?  I  doubt  not  he  owes 
his  disease  to  his  wants.  An  empty  stomach  is  like  an  empty 
pocket — a  place  for  the  devil  to  play  his  gambols  in.  'Tis  your 
small  doctor  who  prates  of  a  meager  regimen.  Hunger  is  a 
distemper  of  itself,  and  no  reasonable  man,  who  is  above  hsten- 
ing  to  quackery,  will  believe  it  can  be  a  remedy.  Food  is  the 
prop  of  life;  and  eating,  like  a  crutch  to  a  maimed  man.  Shear- 
flint,  examine  the  ashes  for  the  irons  of  my  supporter,  and  then 
dish  a  bit  of  the  meat  for  the  poor  woman.  Eat  away,  my  charm- 
ing boy,  eat  away  !"  he  continued,  rubbing  his  hands  in  honest 
delight,  to  see  the  avidity  with  which  the  famishing  Job  re- 
ceived his  boon.  "  The  second  pleasure  in  life  is  to  see  a  hun- 
gry man  enjoy  his  meal ;  the  first  being  more  deeply  seated  in 
human  nature.  This  ham  has  the  true  Virginia  flavor !  Have 
you  such  a  thing  as  a  spare  trencher,  Shearflint  ?  It  is  so  near 
the  usual  hour,  I  may  as  well  sup.  It  is  rare,  indeed,  that  a 
man  enjoys  two  such  luxuries  at  once  !" 

The  tongue  of  Polwarth  ceased  the  instant  Shearflint  admin- 
istered to  his  wants ;  the  warehouse,  into  which  he  had  so  lately 
entered  with  such  fell  intent,  exhibiting  the  strange  spectacle  of 
the  captain,  sharing,  with  social  communion,  in  the  humble  re- 
past of  its  hunted  and  miserable  tenants. 


370 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

"  Sir  Thurio,  give  us  leave,  I  pray,  awhile ; 
We  have  some  secrets  to  confer  about." 

Two  Gentlemen  of  Yekcna. 

During  the  preceding  exhibition  of  riot  and  degradation  in  tlie 
Dock  Square,  a  very  different  state  of  things  existed  beneath 
the  roof  of  a  proud  edifice  that  stood  in  an  adjacent  street. 
As  was  usual  at  that  hour  of  the  night,  the  windows  of  Province 
House  were  brilliant  with  lights,  as  if  in  mockery  of  the  naked 
dreariness  of  the  neighboring  church  ;  and  every  approach  to 
that  privileged  residence  of  the  representative  of  royalty  was 
closely  guarded  by  the  vigilance  of  armed  men.  Into  this  fa- 
vored dwelling  it  now  becomes  necessary  to  remove  the  scene, 
in  order  to  pursue  the  thread  of  our  unpretending  narrative. 

Domestics,  in  rich  military  liveries,  might  be  seen  gliding 
from  room  to  room,  in  the  hurry  of  a  banquet — some  bearing 
vessels  of  the  most  generous  wines  into  the  apartment  where 
Howe  entertained  the  leaders  of  the  royal  army,  and  others 
returning  with  the  remnants  of  a  feast,  which,  though  sumptu- 
ously served,  having  felt  the  scarcity  of  the  times,  had  offered 
more  to  the  eyes  than  to  the  appetites  of  the  guests.  Idlers, 
in  the  loose  undress  of  their  martial  profession,  loitered  through 
the  halls ;  and  many  a  wistful  glance,  or  lingering  look,  fol- 
lowed the  odorous  scents,  as  humbler  menials  received  the 
viands  to  transport  them  into  the  more  secret  recesses  of  the 
building.  Notwithstanding  the  life  and  activity  which  prevail- 
ed, every  movement  was  conducted  in  silence  and  regularity ; 
the  whole  of  the  lively  scene  affording  a  happy  illustration  of 
the  virtues  and  harmony  of  order. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


377 


Within  the  walls  of  that  apartment,  to  which  every  eye 
seemed  directed  as  to  a  common  centre,  in  anticipation  of  the 
slightest  wish  of  those  who  revelled  there,  all  was  bright  and 
cheerful.  The  hearth  knew  no  want  of  fuel ;  the  coarser  work- 
manship of  the  floor  was  hid  beneath  rich  and  ample  carpets, 
while  the  windows  were  nearly  lost  within  the  sweeping  folds 
of  curtains  of  figured  damask.  Every  thing  wore  an  air  of  ex- 
quisite comfort,  blended  with  a  species  of  careless  elegance. 
Even  the  most  minute  article  of  the  furniture  had  been  trans- 
ported from  that  distant  country,  which  was  then  thought  to 
monopolize  all  the  cunning  arts  of  handicraft,  to  administer  to 
the  pleasures  of  those  who,  however  careless  of  themselves  in 
moments  of  trial,  courted  the  most  luxurious  indulgences  in 
their  hours  of  ease. 

Along  the  centre  of  this  gay  apartment  was  spread  the  hos- 
pitable board  of  the  entertainer.  It  was  surrounded  by  men  in 
the  trappings  of  high  military  rank,  though  here  and  there 
might  be  seen  a  guest,  whose  plainer  attire  and  dejected  coun- 
tenance betrayed  the  presence  of  one  or  two  of  those  misjudg- 
ing colonists,  whose  confidence  in  the  resistless  power  of  the 
crown  began  already  to  waver.  The  lieutenant  of  the  king  held 
his  wonted  place  at  the  banquet,  his  dark  visage  expressing  all 
the  heartiness  of  a  soldier's  welcome,  while  he  pointed  out  this 
or  that  favorite  amongst  an  abundant  collection  of  wines,  that 
included  the  choicest  liquors  of  Europe. 

"  For  those  who  share  the  mess  of  a  British  general,  you  have 
encountered  rude  fare  to-day,  gentlemen,"  he  cried ;  "  though, 
after  all,  'tis  such  as  a  British  soldier  knows  how  to  fatten  on, 
in  the  service  of  his  master.  Fill,  gentlemen,  fill  in  loyal 
bumpers ;  for  we  have  neglected  our  allegiance." 

Each  glass  now  stood  sparkling  and  overcharged  with  wine, 
when,  after  a  short  and  solemn  pause,  the  host  pronounced  aloud 
the  magical  words—"  The  King."  Every  voice  echoed  the  name, 
after  which  there  literally  succeeded  a  breathless  pause  ;  when 
an  old  man,  in  the  uniform  of  an  oflScer  of  the  fleet,  first  proving 


378 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


his  loyalty  by  flourishing  on  high  his  inverted  glass,  added,  with 
hearty  will — 

"  God  bless  him  !" 

"  God  bless  him !"  repeated  the  graceful  leader,  who  has  al- 
ready been  more  than  once  named  in  these  pages ;  "  and  grant 
him  a  long  and  glorious  reign !  and,  should  there  be  no  treason 
in  the  wish,  in  death,  a  Grave  like  yourself,  worthy  admiral — 
*  Sepulcrum  sine  sordibus  extrue.' " 

"Like  me  1"  echoed  the  blunt  seaman,  whose  learning  was 
somewhat  impaired  by  hard  and  long  service — ^"  I  am,  it  is  true, 
none  of  your  cabin- window  gentry ;  but  his  majesty  might  stoop 
lower  than  by  favoring  a  faithful  servant,  like  me,  with  his  gra- 
cious presence." 

"  Your  pardon,  sir ;  I  should  have  included,  *  permissum  ar- 
bitrio.'  " 

The  equivoque  had  barely  excited  a  smile,  when  the  sedate 
countenance  of  the  commander-in-chief  indicated  that  the  sub- 
lect  was  too  serious  for  a  jest.  ISTor  did  the  naval  chieftain  ap- 
pear to  relish  the  unknown  tongue ;  for,  quite  as  much,  if  not 
a  little  more,  ofiended  with  the  liberty  taken  with  his  own 
name,  than  with  the  privileged  person  of  the  sovereign,  he  some- 
what smartly  retorted — 

"Permitted  or  not  permitted,  I  command  the  fleet  of  his 
majesty  in  these  waters,  and  it  shall  be  noted  as  a  cheerful 
day  in  our  log-books,  when  you  gentlemen  of  the  army  dismiss 
us  to  our  duty  again,  on  the  high-seas.  A  sailor  will  gTow 
as  tired  of  doing  nothing,  as  ever  a  soldier  did  of  work,  and  I 
should  hke  *  elbow-room,'  even  in  my  cofiin — ha,  ha,  ha — what 
d'ye  think  of  that,  master  wit  ? — ha,  ha,  ha— what  d'ye  say  to 
that  ?" 

"Quite  fair,  well  deserved,  and  cuttingly  severe,  admiral," 
returned  the  undisturbed  soldier,  smiling  with  perfect  self-pos- 
session, as  he  sipped  his  wine.  "  But  as  you  find  confinement 
and  leisure  so  irksome,  I  will  presume  to  advise  your  seizing 
Bome  of  these  impudent  Yankees,  who  look  into  the  port  so 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


379 


often,  not  only  robbing  us  of  our  stores,  but  offending  so  many 
loyal  eyes  with  their  traitorous  presence." 

"  I  command  a  parley  to  be  beaten,"  interrupted  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, "  and  a  truce  to  further  hostilities.  Whei  e  all 
have  done  their  duty,  and  have  done  it  so  well,  even  \nt  must 
respect  their  conduct.  Let  me  advise  you  to  sound  the  contents 
of  that  dusty-looking  bottle,  Mr.  Graves ;  I  think  you  will  ap- 
prove the  situation  as  an  anchorage  for  the  night." 

The  honest  old  seaman  instantly  drowned  his  displeasure  in  a 
glass  of  the  generous  liquor,  and,  smacking  his  lips  after  the 
potations,  for  he  repeated  the  first  on  the  moment,  he  ex- 
claimed— 

"  Ah !  you  are  too  stationary,  by  half,  to  stir  up  the  soul  of 
your  liquors.  "Wine  should  never  slumber  on  its  lees  until  it  has 
been  well  rolled  in  the  trough  of  a  sea  for  a  few  months  ;  then, 
indeed,  you  may  set  it  asleep,  and  yourself  by  the  side  of  it,  if 
you  like  a  cat's  nap." 

"  As  orthodox  a  direction  for  the  ripening  of  wine  as  was  ever 
given  by  a  bishop  to  his  butler !"  exclaimed  his  adversary.  An- 
other significant  glance  from  his  dark-looking  superior  again 
checked  his  wilful  playfulness,  when  Howe  profited  by  the  silence, 
to  say  with  the  frank  air  of  a  liberal  host — 

"  As  motion  is,  just  now,  denied  us,  the  only  means  T  can 
devise,  to  prevent  my  wine  from  slumbering  on  its  lees,  is  to 
drink  it." 

"Besides  which,  we  are  threatened  with  a  visit  from  Mr. 
Washington,  and  his  thirsty  followers,  who  may  save  us  all 
trouble  in  the  matter,  unless  we  prove  industrious.  In  such  a 
dilemma,  Mr.  Graves  will  not  hesitate  to  pledge  me  in  a  glass, 
though  it  should  be  only  to  disappoint  the  rebels  1"  added  Bur- 
goyne,  making  a  graceful  incHnation  to  the  half-offended  sea- 
man. 

"  Ay,  ay,  I  would  do  much  more  disagreeable  things  to  cheat 
the  rascals  of  their  plunder,"  returned  the  mollified  admiral, 
^ood-naturedly  nodding  his  head  before  he  swallowed  his 


380 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


bumper.  "If  there  be  any  real  danger  of  the  loss  of  such 
liquid  amber  as  this,  'twould  be  as  well  to  send  it  along-side  my 
ship,  and  I  will  hoist  it  in,  and  find  it  a  berth,  though  it  shares 
my  own  cott.  I  believe  I  command  a  fortress  which  neither 
Yankee,  Frenchman,  nor  Don,  would  like  to  besiege,  unless  at  a 
respectful  distance." 

The  officers  around  him  looked  exceedingly  grave,  exchang- 
ing glances  of  great  meaning,  though  all  continued  silent,  as  if 
the  common  subject  of  their  meditations  was  too  delicate  to  be 
loudly  uttered  in  such  a  presence.  At  length  the  second  in 
command,  who  still  felt  the  coldness  of  his  superior,  and  who 
had,  hitherto,  said  nothing  during  the  idle  dialogue,  ventured 
a  remark,  with  the  gravity  and  distance  of  a  man  who  w\as  not 
certain  of  his  welcome. 

"  Our  enemies  grow  bold  as  the  season  advances,"  he  said, 
"  and  it  is  past  a  doubt  that  they  will  find  us  employment  in  the 
coming  summer.  It  cannot  be  denied  but  they  conduct  them- 
selves with  great  steadiness  in  all  their  batteries,  especially  in 
this  last,  at  the  water-side ;  nor  am  I  without  apprehension  that 
they  will  yet  get  upon  the  islands,  and  render  the  situation  of 
the  shipping  hazardous." 

"  Get  upon  the  islands !  drive  the  fleet  from  their  anchors  !" 
exclaimed  the  veteran  sailor,  in  undisguised  amazement.  "  I 
shall  account  it  a  happy  day  for  England,  when  Washington 
and  his  rabble  trust  themselves  within  reach  of  our  shot !" 

"  God  grant  us  a  chance  at  the  rascals  with  the  bayonet  in 
the  open  field,"  cried  Howe,  "  and  an  end  of  these  winter-quar- 
ters !  I  say  winter-quarters,  for  I  trust  no  gentleman  can  con- 
sider this  army  as  besieged  by  a  mob  of  armed  peasants !  We 
hold  the  town,  and  they  the  country  ;  but  when  the  proper 
lime  shall  come — well,  sir,  your  pleasure,"  he  continued,  inter- 
rupting himself  to  speak  to  an  upper  servant  at  his  elbow. 

The  man,  who  had  stood  for  more  than  a  minute,  in  an  atti- 
tude of  respectful  attention,  anxious  to  catch  the  eye  of  his 
master,  muttered  his  message  in  a  low  and  hurried  voice,  as  if 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


381 


anwilling  to  be  heard  by  others,  and  at  the  same  time  conscious 
of  the  impropriety  of  whispering.  Most  of  those  around  him 
turned  their  heads  in  polite  indifference ;  but  the  old  sailor,  who 
sat  too  near  to  be  totally  deaf,  had  caught  the  words,  "  a  lady," 
which  was  quite  enough  to  provoke  all  his  merriment,  after  such 

free  indulgence  of  the  bottle.  Striking  his  hand  smartly  on 
the  table,  he  exclaimed,  with  a  freedom  that  no  other  present 
could  have  presumed  to  use — 

"  A  sail !  a  sail !  by  George,  a  sail !  under  what  colors,  friend  ? 
king's  or  rebels'  ?  Here  has  been  a  blunder,  with  a  vengeance  1 
The  cook  has  certainly  been  too  late,  or  the  lady  is  too  early ! 
ha,  ha,  ha — oh !  you  are  wicked,  free  livers  in  the  army  1" 

The  tough  old  tar  enjoyed  his  joke  exceedingly,  chuckling 
with  inward  delight  at  his  discovery.  He  was,  however,  alone 
in  his  merriment,  none  of  the  soldiers  venturing  to  understand 
his  allusions,  any  further  than  by  exchanging  a  few  stolen  looks 
of  unusual  archness.  Howe  bit  his  lips  with  obvious  vexation, 
and  sternly  ordered  the  man  to  repeat  his  errand  in  a  voice  that 
was  more  audible. 

"  A  lady,"  said  the  trembling  menial,  "  wishes  to  see  your 
excellency,  and  she  waits  your  pleasure,  sir,  in  the  library." 

"  Among  his  books,  too  1"  shouted  the  admiral ;  "  that  would 
have  better  become  you,  my  joking  friend !  I  say,  young  man, 
is  the  girl  young  and  handsome 

"  By  the  lightness  of  her  step,  sir,  I  should  think  her  young  ; 
but  her  face  was  concealed  under  a  hood." 

"  Ay !  ay  1  the  jade  comes  hooded  into  the  house  of  the  king ! 
Damn  me,  Howe,  but  modesty  is  getting  to  be  a  rare  virtue 
amongst  you  gentlemen  on  shore !" 

"  'Tis  a  plain  case  against  you,  sir,  for  even  the  servant,  as 
you  find,  has  detected  that  she  is  hght  of  carriage,"  said  the 
smiling  Burgoyne,  making  half  a  motion  towards  rising.  "  It 
is  probably  some  applicant  for  relief,  or  for  permission  to  depart 
the  place.  Suffer  me  to  see  her,  and  spare  yourself  the  pain  ol 
%  refusal.'' 


382 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Not  at  all,"  said  Howe,  gaining  his  feet  with  an  alacrity 
that  anticipated  the  more  deliberate  movement  of  the  other : 
"  I  should  be  unworthy  of  the  trust  I  hold,  could  I  not  lend  an 
occasional  ear  to  a  petition.  Gentlemen,  as  there  is  a  lady  in 
the  case,  I  presume  to  trespass  on  your  indulgence.  Admiral,  I 
commend  you  to  my  butler,  who  is  a  worthy  fellow,  and  can^ 
give  you  all  the  cruises  of  the  bottle  before  you,  since  it  left  the 
island  of  Madeira." 

He  inclined  his  head  to  his  guests,  and  passed  from  the  room 
with  a  hurried  step,  that  did  not  altogether  consult  appearances. 
As  he  proceeded  through  the  hall,  his  ears  were  saluted  by  an- 
other burst  from  the  hearty  old  seaman,  who,  however,  enjoyed 
his  humor  alone,  the  rest  of  the  party  immediately  turning  to 
other  subjects,  with  well-bred  dullness.  On  entering  the  room 
already  mentioned,  Howe  found  himself  in  the  presence  of  the 
female,  who,  notwithstanding  their  apparent  indifference,  was  at 
that  very  moment  occupying  the  thoughts,  and  exercising  the 
ingenuity  of  every  man  he  had  left  behind  him.  Advancing  at 
once  to  the  centre  of  the  apartment,  with  the  ease  and  freedom 
of  a  soldier  who  felt  himself  without  a  superior,  he  asked,  with 
a  politeness  somewhat  equivocal — 

"  Why  am  I  favored  with  this  visit  ?  and  why  has  a  lady, 
whose  appearance  shows  she  might  command  friends  at  any 
time,  assumed  this  personal  trouble  ?" 

"  Because  I  am  a  supplicant  for  a  favor  that  might  be  denied 
to  one  who  petitioned  coldly,"  returned  a  soft,  tremulous  voice, 
deep  within  the  covering  of  a  silken  calash.  "  As  time  is  want- 
ing to  observe  the  usual  forms  of  applications,  I  have  presumed 
to  come  in  person,  to  prevent  delay." 

"  And  surely,  one  like  you  can  have  little  reason  to  dread  a 
repulse,"  said  Howe,  with  an  attempt  at  gallantry,  that  would 
have  better  become  the  man  who  had  offered  to  be  his  substi- 
tute. While  speaking,  he  advanced  a  step  nigner  to  the  lady,  and 
pointing  to  her  hood,  he  continued :  "  Would  it  not  be  wise  to  aid 
your  request  with  a  view  of  a  countenance  that  I  am  certain  can 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


383 


speak  better  than  any  words? — wliom  have  I  the  honor  to  re- 
ceive, and  what  may  be  the  nature  of  her  business  ?" 

"  A  wife,  who  seeks  her  husband,"  returned  the  female,  drop- 
ping the  folds  of  her  calash,  and  exposing  to  his  steady  eyes  the 
commanding  lovehness  of  the  chaste  countenance  of  Cecil.  The 
sudden  annunciation  of  her  character  was  forced  from  the  Hps 
of  the  unclaimed  bride,  by  the  freedom  of  a  gaze  to  which  she 
was  unused ;  but  the  instant  she  had  spoken,  her  eyes  fell  on 
the  floor  in  embarrassment,  and  she  stood  deeply  blushing  at  the 
strength  of  her  own  language,  though  preserving  all  the  ap- 
parent composure  and  dignity  of  female  pride.  The  English 
general  regarded  her  beauty  for  a  moment,  with  a  pleased, 
though  doubting  eye,  before  he  continued — 

"  Is  he  whom  you  seek  within  or  without  the  town 

"  I  much  fear  without !" 

"  And  you  would  follow  him  into  the  camp  of  the  rebels  ? 
This  is  a  case  that  may  require  some  deliberation.  I  feel  assured 
I  entertain  a  lady  of  great  beauty ;  might  I,  in  addition,  know 
how  to  address  her 

"  For  my  name  I  can  have  no  reason  to  blush,"  said  Cecil, 
proudly ;  "  'tis  noble  in  the  land  of  our  common  ancestors,  and 
may  have  reached  the  ears  of  Mr.  Howe — I  am  the  child  of  the 
late  Colonel  Dynevor !" 

"  The  niece  of  Lord  Cardonnel !"  exclaimed  her  auditor,  in 
amazement,  instantly  losing  the  equivocal  freedom  of  his  man- 
ner in  an  air  of  deep  respect :  "  I  have  long  known  that  Boston 
contained  such  a  lady ;  nor  do  I  forget  that  she  is  accused  of 
concealing  herself  from  the  attentions  of  the  army,  like  one  of 
the  most  obdurate  of  our  foes — attentions  which  every  man 
in  the  garrison  would  be  happy  to  show  her,  from  myself  down 
to  the  lowest  ensign.    Do  me  the  honor  to  be  seated." 

Cecil  bowed  her  acknowledgments,  but  continued  stand- 
ing— 

"  1  have  neither  time  nor  spirits  to  defend  myself  from  such 
an  imputation,"  she  answered ;  "  though,  should  my  own  name 


384 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


prove  no  passport  to  your  favor,  I  must  claim  it  in  behalf  of  him 
I  seek." 

"  Should  he  be  the  veriest  rebel  in  the  train  of  Washington, 
he  has  great  reason  to  be  proud  of  his  fortune  1" 

"  So  far  from  ranking  among  the  enemies  of  the  king,  he  has 
alread^^  been  lavish  of  his  blood  in  behalf  of  the  crown,"  re- 
journed Cecil,  unconsciously  raising  the  calash  again,  with  maiden 
bashfulness,  as  she  felt  the  moment  was  approaching  when  she 
must  declare  the  name  of  the  man,  whose  influence  over  her 
feelings  she  had  already  avowed. 

"  And  he  is  called— r 

The  answer  was  given  to  this  direct  question  in  a  low  but 
distinct  voice.  Howe  started  when  he  heard  the  well-known 
name  of  an  officer  of  so  much  consideration,  though  a  mean- 
ing smile  lighted  his  dark  features,  as  he  repeated  her  words 
in  surj)rise — 

"  Major  Lincoln  !  his  refusal  to  return  to  Europe,  in  search  of 
health,  is  then  satisfactorily  explained !  Without  the  town,  did 
you  say  ?    There  must  be  some  error." 

"  I  fear  it  is  too  true.'* 

The  harsh  features  of  the  leader  contracted  again  into  tlieir 
sternest  look,  and  it  was  apparent  how  much  he  was  disturbed 
by  the  intelligence. 

"  This  is  presuming  too  far  on  his  privilege,"  he  muttered,  in 
an  under-tone.  "  Left  the  place,  say  you,  without  my  knowl- 
edge and  approbation,  young  lady  ?" 

"  But  on  no  unworthy  errand !"  cried  the  almost  breathless 
Cecil,  instantly  losing  sight  of  herself  in  her  anxiety  for  Lionel. 
"  Private  sorrows  have  driven  him  to  an  act  that,  at  another 
time,  lie  w^ould  be  the  first  to  condemn,  as  a  soldier." 

Howe  maintained  a  cool,  but  threatening  silence,  that  was  far 
more  appalling  than  any  words  could  be.  The  alarmed  wife 
gazed  at  his  lowering  face  for  a  minute,  as  if  to  penetrate  his 
secret  thoughts  ;  then  yielding,  with  the  sensitiveness  of  a  wo- 
man, to  her  worst  apprehensions,  she  cried — 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


885 


"  Oh  !  you  would  not  avail  yourself  of  this  confession  to  do 
him  harm  !  Has  he  not  bled  for  you — hngered  for  months  on 
the  verge  of  the  grave,  in  defence  of  your  cause — and  will  you 
now  doubt  him  ?  Nay,  sir,  though  chance  and  years  may  have 
subjected  him,  for  a  time,  to  your  control,  he  is  every  way  your 
equal,  and  will  confront  each  charge  before  his  royal  master,  let 
who  may  bring  them  against  his  spotless  name  1" 

"  'Twill  be  necessary,"  the  other  coldly  replied. 

"  Nay,  hearken  not  to  my  weak,  unmeaning  words,"  con- 
tinued Cecil,  wringing  her  hands  in  doubting  distress:  "I  know 
not  what  I  say.  He  has  your  permission  to  hold  intercourse 
with  the  country  weekly 

"  For  the  purpose  of  obtaining  the  supplies  necessary  to  his 
past  condition." 

"  And  may  he  not  have  gone  on  such  an  errand,  and  under 
favor  of  the  flag  you  yourself  have  cheerfully  accorded 

"  In  such  a  case,  would  I  not  have  been  spared  the  pain  of 
this  interview 

Cecil  paused  a  moment,  and  seemed  collecting  her  scattered 
faculties,  and  preparing  her  mind  for  some  serious  purpose. 
After  a  httle  time,  she  attempted  a  painful  smile,  saying,  more 
calmly — 

"  I  had  presumed  too  far  on  mihtary  indulgence,  and  w^as 
even  weak  enough  to  believe  the  request  would  be  granted  to 
my  name  and  situation." 

"  No  name,  no  situation,  no  circumstances,  can  ever  ren- 
der—" 

"  Speak  not  the  cruel  words,  lest  they  once  more  drive  me 
from  my  recollection,"  interrupted  Cecil.  "  First  hear  me,  sir  : 
listen  to  a  wife  and  a  daughter,  and  you  will  recall  the  cruel 
Bentence." 

Without  waiting  for  a  reply,  she  advanced  with  a  firm  and 
proud  step  to  the  door  of  the  room,  passing  her  astonished  com- 
panion with  an  eye  and  a  face  beaming  with  the  fulness  of  her 
object.    In  the  outer  passage,  she  beckoned  from  among  the 

IT 


386 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


loiterers  in  the  hall,  to  the  stranger  who  had  accompanied  her 
in  the  visit  to  the  warehouse ;  and  when  he  had  approached, 
and  entered  the  room,  the  door  once  more  closed,  leaving  the 
spectators  without  wondering  whence  such  a  vision  of  purity 
could  have  made  its  way  within  the  sullied  walls  of  Province 
House. 

Many  long  and  impatient  minutes  were  passed  by  the  guests 
in  the  banqueting-room,  during  the  continuance  of  this  myste- 
rious interview.  The  jests  of  the  admiral  began  to  flag,  just  as 
his  companions  were  inclined  to  think  they  were  most  merited, 
and  the  conversation  assumed  that  broken  and  disjointed  char- 
acter which  betrays  the  wandering  of  the  speakers'  thoughts. 

At  length  a  bell  rang,  and  orders  came  from  the  commander- 
in-chief  to  clear  the  hall  of  its  curious  idlers.  When  none  were 
left  but  the  regular  domestics  of  the  family,  Howe  appeared, 
supporting  Cecil,  closely  hooded,  to  the  conveyance  that  awaited 
her  presence  at  the  gate.  The  air  of  their  master  communicated 
a  deep  respect  to  the  manners  of  the  observant  menials,  who 
crowded  about  their  persons,  to  aid  the  departure,  with  officious 
zeal.  The  amazed  sentinels  dropped  their  arms,  with  the  usual 
regularity,  to  their  chieftain,  as  he  passed  to  the  outer  portal  in 
honor  of  his  unknown  companion,  and  eyes  met  the  expressive 
glances  of  eyes,  as  all  who  witnessed  the  termination  of  this 
visit  sought,  in  the  countenances  of  those  around  them,  some  so- 
lution of  its  object. 

When  Howe  resumed  his  seat  at  the  table,  another  attempt 
was  made  by  the  admiral  to  renew  the  subject ;  but  it  was  re- 
ceived with  an  air  so  cold,  and  a  look  so  pointedly  severe,  that 
even  the  careless  son  of  the  ocean  forgot  his  humor  under  the 
impression  of  so  dark  a  frown. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


"  Nor  martial  shout,  nor  minstrel  tone, 
Announced  their  march — " 

Scott. 


Cecil  suflfered  tlie  night  to  advance  a  little,  before  she  left 
Tremont-street,  to  profit  by  the  permission  to  leave  the  place 
her  communication  had  obtained  from  the  English  general.  It 
was,  however,  far  from  late  when  she  took  leave  of  Agnes,  and 
commenced  her  expedition,  still  attended  by  Meriton  and  the 
unknown  man,  with  whom  she  has  already,  mc^e  than  once, 
made  her  appearance  in  our  pages.  At  the  lower  part  of  the 
town  she  left  her  vehicle,  and  pursuing  the  route  of  several  de- 
vious and  retired  streets,  soon  reached  the  margin  of  the  water. 
The  wharves  were  deserted  and  still.  Indicating  the  course,  by 
her  own  light  and  hurried  footsteps,  to  her  companions,  the 
youthful  bride  moved  unhesitatingly  along  the  rough  planks, 
until  her  progress  was  checked  by  a  large  basin,  between  two 
of  the  ordinary  wooden  piers  which  line  the  shores  of  the  place. 
Here  she  paused  for  a  moment,  in  doubt,  as  if  fearful  there  had 
been  some  mistake,  when  the  figure  of  a  boy  was  seen  advancing 
out  of  the  shadows  of  a  neighboring  storehouse. 

"  I  fear  you  have  lost  your  way,"  he  said,  when  within  a  few 
feet  of  her,  where  he  stood,  apparently  examining  the  party  ^ 
with  rigid  scrutiny.    "  May  I  venture  to  ask  whom  or  what 
you  seek  ?" 

"  One  who  is  sent  hither  on  private  duty,  by  orders  from  the 
commander-in-chief." 

"  I  see  but  two,"  returned  the  lad,  hesitating — "  where  is  the 
third  r 


388 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


He  lingers  in  the  distance,"  said  Cecil,  pointing  to  Merito.n, 
whose  footsteps  were  much  more  guarded  than  those  of  his  mis- 
tress.   "  Three  is  our  number,  and  we  are  all  present." 

"  I  beg  a  thousand  pardons,"  returned  the  youth,  dropping 
the  folds  of  a  sailor's  overcoat,  under  which  he  had  concealed 
the  distinguishing  marks  of  a  naval  dress,  and  raising  his  hat 
at  the  same  moment,  with  great  respect ;  "  my  orders  were  to 
use  the  utmost  precaution,  ma'am,  for,  as  you  hear,  the  rebels 
sleep  but  little  to-night." 

"  'Tis  a  dreadful  scene  I  leave,  truly,  sir,"  returned  Cecil,  "  and 
the  sooner  it  will  suit  your  convenience  to  transport  us  from  it, 
the  greater  will  be  the  obligation  you  are  about  to  confer." 

The  youth  once  more  bowed,  in  submission  to  her  wishes, 
and  requested  the  whole  party  to  follow  whither  he  should  lead. 
A  very  few  moments  brought  them  to  a  pair  of  water-stairs, 
where,  under  cover  of  the  duskiness  thrown  upon  the  basin  from 
the  wharf,  a  boat  lay  concealed,  in  perfect  readiness  to  receive 
them. 

"  Be  stirring,  boys  !"  cried  the  youth,  in  a  tone  of  authority ; 
"  ship  your  oars  as  silently  as  if  stealing  away  from  an  enemy. 
Have  the  goodness,  ma'am,  to  enter,  and  you  shall  have  a  quick 
and  safe  landing  on  the  other  shore,  whatever  may  be  the  recep- 
tion of  the  rebels." 

Cecil  and  her  two  attendants  complied  without  delay,  when 
the  boat  glided  into  the  stream  with  a  velocity  that  promised  a 
speedy  verification  of  the  words  of  the  midshipman.  The  most 
profound  stillness  reigned  among  these  nocturnal  adventurers, 
and  by  the  time  they  had  rowed  a  short  distance,  the  bride 
began  to  lose  an  immediate  consciousness  of  her  situation  in 
contemplation  of  the  scene. 

The  evening  was  already  milder,  and  by  one  of  those  sudden 
changes,  peculiar  to  the  climate,  it  was  rapidly  becoming  even 
blani  and  pleasant.  The  light  of  a  clear  moon  fell  upon  the 
town  and  harbor,  rendering  the  objects  of  both  visible,  in  mel- 
lowed softness.    The  huge  black  hulls  of  the  vessels  of  war 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


389 


rested  sullenly  on  tlie  waters,  like  slumbering  leviathans,  without 
even  a  sail  or  a  passing  boat,  except  their  own,  to  enliven  the 
view  in  the  direction  of  the  port.  On  the  other  hand,  the  hills  of 
the  town  rose,  in  beautiful  rehef,  against  the  clear  sky,  with 
here  and  there  a  roof  or  a  steeple  reflecting  the  pale  light  of  the 
moon.  The  bosom  of  the  place  was  as  quiet  as  if  its  inhabit- 
ants were  buried  in  midnight  sleep ;  but  behind  the  hills,  in  a 
circuit  extending  from  the  works  on  the  heights  of  Gharlestown, 
to  the  neck,  which  lay  in  open  view  of  the  boat,  there  existed 
all  the  e^adences  of  furious  warfare.  During  the  few  preceding 
nights,  the  Americans  had  been  more  than  commonly  dihgent 
in  the  use  of  their  annoyances,  but  now  they  appeared  to  ex- 
pend their  utmost  energies  upon  their  enemies.  Still  they 
spared  the  town,  directing  the  weight  of  their  fire  at  the  differ- 
ent batteries  which  protected  the  approaches  to  the  place,  as 
already  described,  along  the  western  borders  of  the  peninsula. 

The  ears  of  Cecil  had  long  been  accustomed  to  the  uproar 
of  arms,  but  this  was  the  first  occasion  in  which  she  was  ever 
a  witness  of  the  mingled  beauties  and  terrors  of  a  cannonade  at 
night.  Suffering  the  calash  to  fall,  she  shook  back  the  dark 
tresses  from  her  face,  and,  leaning  over  the  sides  of  the  little 
vessel,  listened  to  the  bursts  of  the  artillery,  and  gazed  on  the 
sudden  flashes  of  vivid  light  that  mocked  the  dimmer  illumina- 
tion of  the  planet,  with  an  absorbed  attention  that  momentarily 
lured  her  into  forgetfulness.  The  men  pulled  their  light  boat 
with  muffled  oars,  and  so  still  was  its  progress,  that  there  were 
instants  when  even  the  shot  might  be  heard  rattling  among  the 
ruins  they  had  made. 

"  It's  amazement  to  me,  madam,"  said  Meriton,  "  that  so 
many  British  generals,  and  brave  gentlemen  as  there  is  in  Bos- 
ton, should  stay  in  such  a  little  spot  to  be  shot  at  by  a  parcel 
of  countrymen,  when  there  is  Lon'non,  as  still  and  as  safe,  at  this 
blessed  moment,  as  a  parish  churchyard  at  midnight !" 

Cecil  raised  her  eyes  at  this  interruption,  and  perceived  the 
youth  gazing  at  her  countenance  in  undisguised  admiration  of 


390 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


its  beauty.  Blushing,  and  once  more  concealing  her  features 
beneath  her  calash,  she  turned  away  from  the  view  of  the  con- 
flict,  in  silence. 

"  The  rebels  are  free  with  their  gunpowder  to-night !"  said 
the  midshipman.  "  Some  of  their  cruisers  have  picked  up 
another  of  our  storeships,  I  fancy,  or  Mr.  "Washington  would 
not  make  such  a  noisy  time  of  it,  when  all  honest  people  should 
be  thinking  of  their  sleep.  Don't  you  believe,  ma'am,  if  the 
admiral  would  warp  three  or  four  of  our  heaviest  ships  up  into 
the  channel,  back  of  the  town,  it  would  be  a  short  method  of 
lowering  the  conceit  of  these  Yankees  ?" 

"  Eeally,  sir,  I  am  so  little  acquainted  with  military  matters," 
returned  Cecil,  suffering  her  anxious  features  to  relax  into  a 
smile,  "  that  my  opinion,  should  I  venture  to  give  one,  would  be 
utterly  worthless." 

"  Why,  young  gentleman,"  said  Meriton,  "  the  rebels  drove  a 
galley  out  of  the  river,  a  night  or  two  ago,  as  I  can  testify  my- 
self, having  stood  behind  a  large  brick  store,  where  I  saw  the 
whole  affair,  most  beautifully  conducted  !" 

"  A  very  fit  place  for  one  like  you,  no  doubt,  sir,"  returned 
the  midshipman,  without  attempting  to  conceal  his  disgust  at  so 
impertinent  an  interruption.  "  Do  you  know  what  a  galley  is, 
ma'am  ?  nothing  but  a  small  vessel  cut  down,  with  a  few  heavy 
guns,  I  do  assure  you.  It  would  be  a  very  different  affair  with 
a  frigate  or  a  two-decker.  Do  but  observe  what  a  charming 
thing  our  ship  is,  ma'am — I  am  sure  so  beautiful  a  lady  must 
know  how  to  admire  a  handsome  ship  ! — she  lies  hereaway, 
nearly  in  a  range  with  the  second  island." 

To  please  the  earnest  youth,  Cecil  bent  her  head  towards  the 
quarter  he  wished,  and  murmured  a  few  words  in  approbation 
of  his  taste.  But  the  impatient  boy  had  narrowly  watched  the 
direction  of  her  eyes,  and  she  was  interrupted  by  his  exclaiming, 
in  manifest  disappointment — 

"  What !  that  shapeless  hulk,  just  above  the  castle  ?  She  is 
an  old  Dutch  prize,  en  flute,  ay,  older  than  my  grandmother, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


891 


good  old  soul ;  and  it  wouldn't  matter  the  value  of  a  piece  of 
junk,  into  which  end  you  stepped  her  bowsprit !  One  of  my 
school-fellows,  Jack  Willoughby,  is  a  reefer  on  board  her ;  and 
he  says  that  they  can  just  get  six  knots  out  of  her,  on  her  course 
in  smooth  water  with  a  fresh  breeze,  allowing  seven  knots  for 
leeway  !  Jack  means  to  get  rid  of  her  the  moment  he  can 
catch  the  admiral  running  large ;  for  the  Graveses  live  near  the 
Willonghbys  in  town,  and  he  knows  all  the  soundings  about 
the  old  man's  humor.  No,  no,  ma'am;  Jack  would  give  every 
shot  in  his  lockers  to  swing  a  hammock  between  two  of  the 
beams  of  our  ship.  Do  excuse  me,  one  moment ;" — presuming 
to  take  one  of  the  hands  of  Cecil,  though  with  sufficient  delicacy, 
as  he  pointed  out  his  favorite  vessel — "  There,  ma'am,  now  you 
have  her!  she  that's  so  taut  rigged,  with  a  flying-jib-boom, 
and  all  her  top-gallant  yards  stopped  to  her  lower  rigging  :  we 
send  them  down  every  night  at  gun-fire,  and  cross  them  again 
next  morning  as  regularly  as  the  bell  strikes  eight. — Isn't  she  a 
sweet  thing,  ma'am  ?  for  I  see  she  has  caught  your  eye  at  last, 
and  I  am  sure  you  can't  wish  to  look  at  any  other  ship  in 
•port." 

Cecil  could  not  refuse  her  commendations  to  this  eloquent 
appeal,  though  at  the  next  moment  she  would  have  been  utterly 
at  a  loss  to  distinguish  the  much-admired  frigate  from  the 
despised  storeship. 

"Ay,  ay,  madam,  I  knew  you  would  like  her  when  you  once 
got  a  fair  glimpse  at  her  proportions,"  continued  the  delighted 
boy ;  "  though  she  is  not  half  so  beautiful  on  her  broadside,  as 
when  you  can  catch  her  lasking,  especially  on  her  larboard 
bow. — Pull,  long  and  strong,  men,  and  with  a  light  touch  of  the 
water :  these  Yankees  have  ears  as  long  as  borricoes,  and  we  are 
getting  in  with  the  land. — This  set-down  at  Dorchester's  neck 
will  give  you  a  long  walk,  ma'am,  to  Cambridge ;  but  there  was 
ao  possibility  of  touching  the  rebels  anywhere  else  to-night, 
or,  as  you  see,  we  should  have  gone  right  into  the  face  of  their 
cannon." 


392 


LIONEL  LINCOLK-, 


"  Is  it  not  a  little  remarkable,"  said  Cecil,  willing  to  pay  the 
solicitude  of  the  boy  to  amuse  her,  by  some  reply,  "  that  the 
colonists,  while  they  invest  the  town  so  closely  on  the  north  and 
west,  should  utterly  neglect  to  assail  it  on  the  south?  for  I 
believe  they  have  never  occupied  the  hills  in  Dorchester  at  all ; 
and  yet  it  is  one  of  the  points  nearest  to  Boston." 

"  It  is  no  mystery  at  all,"  returned  the  boy,  shaking  his  head 
with  all  the  sagacity  of  a  veteran — "it  would  bring  another 
Bunker  Hill  about  their  ears ;  for  you  see  it  is  the  same  thing 
at  this  end  of  the  place  that  Charlestown  neck  is  at  the  other. — 
A  light  touch,  men,  a  light  touch !"  he  continued,  dropping  his 
voice,  as  they  approached  the  shore. — "Besides,  ma'am,  a  fort 
on  that  hill  could  throw  its  shot  directly  on  our  decks,  a  thing 
the  old  man  would  never  submit  to ;  and  that  would  either  bring 
on  a  regular  hammering  match,  or  a  general  clearing  out  of  the 
fleet ;  and  then  what  would  become  of  the  army  ?  No,  no — the 
Yankees  wouldn't  risk  driving  the  cod-fish  out  of  their  bay,  to 
try  such  an  experiment. — Lay  on  your  oars,  boys,  while  I  take 
a  squint  along  this  shore,  to  see  if  there  are  any  Jonathans 
cooling  themselves  near  the  beach,  by  moonlight." 

The  obedient  seamen  rested  from  their  labors,  while  their 
youthful  officer  s-tood  up  in  the  boat,  and  directed  a  small 
night-glass  over  the  intended  place  of  landing.  The  examina- 
tion proved  entirely  satisfactory,  and,  in  a  low,  cautious  voice, 
he  ordered  the  men  to  pull  into  a  place  where  the  shadow  of  the 
hills  might  render  the  landing  still  less  likely  to  be  observed. 

From  this  moment  the  most  profound  silence  was  observed, 
the  boat  advancing  swiftly,  though  under  perfect  command,  to 
the  desired  spot,  where  it  was  soon  heard  grazing  upon  the 
bottom,  as  it  gradually  lost  its  motion,  and  finally  became 
^.tationary.  Cecil  was  instantly  assisted  to  the  land,  whither 
she  w^as  followed  by  the  midshipman,  who  jumped  upon  the 
shore  with  great  indifference,  and  approached  the  passenger, 
from  whom  he  was  now  about  to  part. 

"  I  only  hope  that  those  you  next  fall  in  with  may  know  how 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


393 


to  treat  you  as  well  as  those  you  leave,"  said  the  boy,  approach- 
ing, and  offering  his  hand,  with  the  frankness  of  an  older  seaman, 
to  Cecil.  "  God  bless  you,  my  dear  ma'am :  I  have  two  little 
sisters  at  home,  nearly  as  handsome  as  yourself;  and  I  never 
see  a  woman  in  want  of  assistance,  but  I  think  of  the  poor  girls 
IVe  left  in  old  England.  God  bless  you,  once  more — I  hope 
when  we  meet  again,  you  will  take  a  nearer  view  of  the — " 

"  You  are  not  likely  to  part  so  soon  as  you  imagine,"  exclaim- 
ed a  man,  springing  on  his  feet,  from  his  place  of  concealment 
behind  a  rock,  and  advancing  rapidly  on  the  party  :  "  offer  the 
least  resistance,  and  you  are  all  dead." 

"  Shove  off,  men,  shove  off,  and  don't  mind  me  I"  cried  the 
youth,  with  admirable  presence  of  mind — "  For  God's  sake,  save 
the  boat,  if  you  die  for  it  1" 

The  seamen  obeyed  with  practised  alacrity,  when  the  boy 
darted  after  them  with  the  lightness  of  his  years,  and,  making  a 
desperate  leap,  caught  the  gunwale  of  the  barge,  into  which  he 
was  instantly  drawn  by  the  sailors.  A  dozen  armed  men  had 
by  this  time  reached  the  edge  of  the  water,  and  as  many 
muskets  were  pointed  at  the  retreating  party,  when  he  who  had 
first  spoken,  cried — 

"  Not  a  trigger ! — the  boy  has  escaped  us,  and  he  deserves 
his  fortune.  Let  us  secure  those  who  remain ;  but  if  a  single 
gun  be  fired,  it  will  only  draw  the  attention  of  the  fleet  and 
castle." 

His  companions,  who  had  acted  with  the  hesitation  of  men 
that  were  not  assured  the  course  they  took  was  correct,  willingly 
dropped  the  muzzles  of  their  pieces,  and  in  another  instant  the 
boat  was  ploughing  its  way  towards  the  much-admired  frigate* 
at  a  distance  which  would  probably  have  rendered  their  fire 
quite  harmless.  Cecil  had  hardly  breathed  during  the  short 
period  of  uncertainty ;  but  when  the  sudden  danger  was  passed, 
she  prepared  herself  to  receive  their  captors  with  the  perfect 
confidence  which  an  American  woman  seldom  fails  to  feel  in 
the  mildness  and  reason  of  her  countrymen.    The  whole  party 


394 


LIONEL  LIKCOLJN, 


who  now  approached  her,  were  dressed  in  the  ordinary  habili- 
ments of  husbandmen,  mingled,  in  a  slight  degree,  with  the 
more  martial  accoutrements  of  soldiers.  They  were  armed  with 
muskets  only,  which  they  wielded  like  men  acquainted  with  all 
the  uses  of  the  weapon,  at  the  same  time  that  they  were  unac- 
customed to  the  mere  manual  of  the  troops. 

Every  fibre  of  the  body  of  Meriton,  however,  shook  with  fear, 
as  he  found  this  unexpected  guard  encircling  their  little  party ; 
nor  did  the  unknown  man  who  had  accompanied  them  appear 
entirely  free  from  apprehension.  The  bride  still  maintained  her 
Belf-possession,  supported  either  by  her  purpose,  or  her  greater 
familiarity  with  the  character  of  the  people  into  whose  hands 
she  had  fallen. 

"When  the  whole  party  were  posted  within  a  few  feet  of  them, 
they  dropped  the  butts  of  their  muskets  on  the  ground,  and 
stood  patient  listeners  to  the  ensuing  examination.  The  leader 
of  the  party,  who  was  only  distinguished  from  his  companions 
by  a  green  cockade  in  his  hat,  which  Cecil  had  heard  was  the 
symbol  of  a  subaltern  officer  among  the  American  troops,  ad- 
dressed her  in  a  calm,  but  steady  tone — 

"  It  is  unpleasant  to  question  a  woman,"  he  said,  "  and  espe- 
cially one  of  your  appearance;  but  duty  requires  it  of  me. 
What  brings  you  to  this  unfrequented  point,  in  the  boat  of  a 
king's  ship,  and  at  this  unusual  hour  of  the  night  ?" 

"  I  come  with  no  intent  to  conceal  my  visit  from  any  eyes," 
returned  Cecil ;  "  for  my  first  wish  is  to  be  conducted  to  some 
officer  of  rank,  to  whom  I  will  explain  my  object.  There 
are  many  that  I  should  know,  who  will  not  hesitate  to  believe 
my  words." 

We  none  of  us  profess  to  doubt  your  truth ;  we  only  act 
with  caution,  because  it  is  required  by  circumstances.  Cannot 
the  explanation  be  made  to  me  ?  for  I  dishke  the  duty  that 
causes  trouble  to  a  female." 

"  'Tis  impossible !"  said  Cecil,  involuntarily  shrinking  within 
the  folds  of  her  mantle. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


395 


"  You  come  at  a  most  unfortunate  moment,"  said  the  other, 
musing ;  "  and  I  fear  you  will  pass  an  uneasy  night,  in  conse- 
quence.   By  your  tongue,  I  think  you  are  an  American 

"  I  was  born  among  those  roofs,  which  you  may  see  on  the 
opposite  peninsula." 

"  Then  we  are  of  the  same  town,"  returned  the  officer,  step- 
ping back  in  a  vain  attempt  to  get  a  glimpse  of  those  features 
which  were  concealed  beneath  the  hood.  He  made  no  attempt, 
however,  to  remove  the  silk ;  nor  did  he  in  the  slightest  manner 
convey  any  wish  of  a  nature  that  might  be  supposed  to  wound 
the  delicacy  of  her  sex ;  but  finding  himself  unsuccessful,  he 
turned  away,  as  he  added,  "  And  I  grow  tired  of  remaining 
where  I  can  see  the  smoke  of  my  own  chimneys,  at  the  same 
time  I  know  that  strangers  are  seated  around  the  hearths  be- 
low !" 

"  None  wish  more  fervently  than  I,  that  the  moment  had  ar- 
rived when  each  might  enjoy  his  own,  in  peace  and  quietness." 

"  Let  the  Parliament  repeal  their  laws,  and  the  king  recall 
his  troops,"  said  one  of  the  men,  "  and  there  will  be  an  end  of 
the  struggle  at  once.  We  don't  fight  because  we  love  to  shed 
blood." 

"  He  would  do  both,  friend,  if  the  counsel  of  one  so  insignifi- 
cant as  I  could  find  weight  in  his  royal  mind." 

"  I  believe  there  is  not  much  difierence  between  a  royal  mind 
and  that  of  any  other  man,  when  the  devil  gets  hold  of  it  1" 
bluntly  exclaimed  another  of  the  party.  "  I've  a  notion  the 
imp  is  as  mischievous  with  a  king  as  with  a  cobbler." 

"  Whatever  I  may  think  of  the  conduct  of  his  ministers," 
said  Cecil,  coldly,  "'tis  unpleasant  to  me  to  discuss  the  personal 
qualities  of  my  sovereign." 

"  Why,  I  meant  no  ofience  ;  though,  when  the  truth  is  up- 
permost in  a  man's  thoughts,  he  is  apt  to  let  it  out,"  returned 
the  soldier.  After  this  uncouth  apology,  he  continued  silent, 
turning  away  like  one  who  felt  dissatisfied  with  himself  for  what 
he  had  done 


396 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


In  the  mean  time,  tlie  leader  had  been  consulting  with  one 
or  two  of  his  men  aside.  He  now  advanced  again,  and  deliv- 
ered the  result  of  their  united  wisdom. 

"  Under  all  circumstances,  I  have  concluded,"  he  said,  speak- 
ing in  the  first  joerson,  in  deference  to  his  rank,  though  in  fact 
he  had  consented  to  change  his  own  opinion  at  the  instigation 
of  his  advisers,  "  to  refer  you  for  information  to  the  nearest  gen- 
eral ofiicer,  under  the  care  of  these  two  men,  who  will  show 
you  the  way.  They  both  know  the  country,  and  there  is  not 
the  least  danger  of  their  mistaking  the  road." 

Cecil  bowed  in  entire  submission  to  this  characteristic  intima- 
tion of  his  pleasure,  and  declared  her  anxiety  to  proceed.  The 
officer  held  another  short  consultation  with  the  two  guides, 
which  soon  terminated  by  his  issuing  orders  to  the  rest  of  the 
detachment  to  prepare  to  depart.  Before  they  separated,  one 
of  the  guides,  or,  more  properly,  guards,  approached  Meriton, 
and  said,  with  a  deliberation  that  might  easily  be  mistaken  for 
doubt — 

"  As  we  shall  be  only  two  to  two,  friend,  will  it  not  be  as  well 
to  see  what  you  have  got  secreted  about  your  person,  as  it  may 
prevent  any  hard  words  or  difficulties  hereafter  ?  You  will  see 
the  reason  of  the  thing,  I  trust,  and  make  no  objection." 

"  Not  at  all,  sir,  not  at  all !"  returned  the  trembling  valet, 
producing  his  purse,  without  a  moment's  hesitation  :  "  it  is  not 
heavy,  but  what  there^is  in  it,  is  of  the  best  Enghsh  gold,  which 
I  expect  is  much  regarded  among  you,  who  see  nothing  but 
rebel  paper." 

"  Much  as  we  set  store  by  it,  we  do  not  choose  to  rob  for  it," 
returned  the  soldier,  with  cool  contempt.  "  I  wish  to  look  for 
weapons,  and  not  for  money." 

But,  sir,  as  I  unluckily  have  no  weapons,  had  you  not  better 
take  my  money  ?  There  are  ten  good  guineas,  I  do  assure  you ; 
and  not  a  light  one  among  them  all,  'pon  honor  !  besides  sev- 
eral pieces  of  silver." 

"Come,  Allen,"  said  the  other  soldier,  laughing,  "it's  no 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


397 


great  matter  whether  that  gentleman  has  arms  or  not,  I  believe. 
His  comrade,  here,  who  seems  to  know  rather  better  what  he  is 
about,  has  none,  at  any  rate  ;  and  for  one  of  two  men,  I  am 
willing  to  trust  the  other." 

"  I  do  assure  you,"  said  Cecil,  "  that  our  intentions  are 
peaceable,  and  that  your  charge  will  prove  in  no  manner  diffi- 
cult." 

The  men  listened  to  the  earnest  tones  of  her  sweet  voice  with 
much  deference,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  two  parties  separ- 
ated, to  proceed  on  their  several  ways.  While  the  main  body 
of  the  soldiers  ascended  the  hill,  the  guides  of  Cecil  took  a  di- 
rection which  led  them  around  its  base.  Their  route  lay  tow^ards 
the  low  neck  which  connected  the  heights  with  the  adjacent 
country,  and  their  progress  was  both  diligent  and  rapid.  Cecil 
was  often  consulted  as  to  her  ability  to  endure  the  fatigue,  and 
repeated  offers  were  made  to  accommodate  their  speed  to  her 
wishes.  In  every  other  respect  she  was  totally  disregarded  by 
the  guides,  who,  however,  paid  much  closer  attention  to  her 
companions,  each  soldier  attaching  himself  to  one  of  her  fol- 
lowers, whom  he  constantly  regarded  with  a  watchful  and  wary 
eye. 

"  You  seem  cold,  friend,*'  said  Allen  to  Meriton ;  "  though  I 
should  call  the  night  quite  pleasant  for  the  first  week  in  March." 

"  Indeed,  I'm  starved  to  the  bones  !"  returned  the  valet,  with 
a  shivering  that  would  seem  to  verify  his  assertion.  "  It's  a 
very  chilly  climate  is  this  of  America,  especially  of  nights !  1 
never  really  felt  such  a  remarkable  dampness  about  the  throat 
before,  within  memory,  I  do  assure  you." 

"  Here  is  another  handkerchief,"  said  the  soldier,  throwing 
him  a  common  'kerchief  from  his  pocket :  "  wrap  it  round  your 
neck,  for  it  gives  me  an  ague  to  hear  your  teeth  knocking  one 
another  about  so." 

"  I  thank  you,  sir,  a  thousand  times,"  said  Meriton,  producing 
his  puree  again,  with  an  instinctive  readiness  :  "  what  may  be 
the  price  f 


£^98 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


The  man  pricked  up  his  ears,  and  dropping  his  musket  from 
the  guarded  position  in  which  he  had  hitherto  carried  it,  he 
drew  closer  to  the  side  of  his  prisoner,  in  a  very  companionable 
way,  as  he  replied — 

"  I  did  not  calculate  on  seUing  the  article  ;  but  if  you  have 
need  of  it,  I  wouldn't  wish  to  be  hard." 

"  Shall  I  give  you  one  guinea,  or  two,  Mr.  Rebel  ?"  asked 
Meriton,  whose  faculties  were  utterly  confounded  by  his  terror. 

"  My  name  is  Allen,  friend,  and  we  like  civil  language  in  the 
Bay,"  said  the  soldier.  "  Two  guineas  for  a  pocket-handker- 
chief !    I  couldn't  think  of  imposing  on  any  man  so  much  !" 

"  What  shall  it  be,  then — half  a  guinea,  or  four  half-crown 
pieces  ?" 

"  I  didn't  at  all  calculate  to  part  with  the  handkerchief  when 
I  left  home  :  it's  quite  new,  as  you  can  see  by  holding  it  up,  in 
this  manner,  to  the  moon  ;  besides,  you  know,  now  there  is  no 
trade,  these  things  come  very  high.  Well,  if  you  are  disposed 
to  buy,  I  don't  wish  to  crowd  ;  you  may  take  it,  finally,  for  the 
two  crowns." 

Meriton  dropped  the  money  into  his  hands,  without  hesita- 
tion, and  the  soldier  pocketed  the  price,  perfectly  satisfied  with 
his  bargain  and  himself,  since  he  had  sold  his  goods  at  a  clear 
profit  of  about  three  hundred  per  cent.  He  soon  took  occasion 
to  whisper  to  his  comrade,  that  in  his  opinion  "  he  had  made  a 
good  trade  ;"  and  laying  their  heads  together,  they  determined 
that  the  bargain  was  by  no  means  a  bad  windfall.  On  the 
other  hand,  Meriton,  who  knew  the  difference  in  value  between 
cotton  and  silk  quite  as  well  as  his  American  protectors,  was 
equally  well  satisfied  with  the  arrangement ;  though  his  content- 
ment was  derived  from  a  very  different  manner  of  reasoning. 
From  early  habit,  he  had  long  been  taught  to  believe  that 
every  civility,  like  patriotism  in  the  opinion  of  Sir  Robert  Wal- 
jx)le,  had  its  price  ;  and  his  fears  had  rendered  him  somewhat 
careless  about  the  amount  of  the  purchase-money.  He  now 
considered  himself  as  having  a  clear  claim  on  the  protection  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


899 


Lis  guard,  and  his  apprehensions  gradually  subsided  into  secu- 
rity under  the  soothing  impression. 

By  the  time  this  satisfactory  bargain  was  concluded,  and 
each  party  was  lawfully  put  in  possession  of  his  own,  they  had 
reached  the  low  land  already  mentioned  as  the  "  neck."  Sud- 
denly the  guard  -stopped,  and  bending  forward,  in  the  attitude 
of  deep  attention,  they  seemed  to  listen,  intently,  to  some  faint 
and  distant  sounds,  that  were,  for  moments,  audible  in  the  inter- 
vals of  the  cannonade. 

"  They  are  coming,"  said  one  to  the  other :  "  shall  we  go  on, 
or  wait  until  they've  passed 

The  question  was  answered  in  a  whisper,  and,  after  a  short 
consultation,  they  determined  to  proceed. 

The  attention  of  Cecil  had  been  attracted  by  this  conference, 
and  the  few  words  which  had  escaped  her  guides  ;  and,  for  the 
first  time,  she  harbored  some  little  dread  as  to  her  final  destina- 
tion. Full  of  the  importance  of  her  errand,  the  bride  now  de- 
voted every  faculty  to  detect  the  least  circumstance  that  might 
have  a  tendency  to  defeat  it.  She  trode  so  lightly  on  the  faded 
herbage  as  to  render  her  own  footsteps  inaudible,  and  more  than 
once  she  was  about  to  request  the  others  to  imitate  her  exam- 
ple, that  no  danger  might  approach  them  unexpectedly.  At 
.ength  her  doubts  were  relieved,  though  her  wonder  was  in- 
creased, by  distinctly  hearing  the  lumbering  sounds  of  wheels 
on  the  frozen  earth,  as  if  innumerable  groaning  vehicles  were 
advancing  with  slow  and  measured  progress.  In  another  in- 
stant her  eyes  assisted  the  organs  of  hearing,  and  by  the  aid  of 
the  moon  her  doubts,  if  not  her  apprehensions,  were  entirely  re- 
moved. 

Her  guards  now  determined  on  a  change  of  pm'pose,  and 
withdrew  with  their  prisoners  within  the  shadow  of  an  apple- 
tree  that  stood  on  the  low  land,  but  a  few  paces  from  the  hne 
of  the  route  evidently  taken  by  the  approaching  vehicles.  In 
this  position  they  remained  for  several  minutes,  attentive  obser* 
vers  of  what  was  passing  around  tliem. 


400 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Our  men  have  woke  up  the  British  by  their  fire,"  said 
one  of  the  guards ;  "  and  all  their  eyes  are  turned  to  the 
batteries 

"  Yes,  it's  very  well  as  it  is,"  returned  his  comrade  ;  "  but  if 
the  old  brass  congress  mortar  hadn't  gi'n  way  yesterday,  there 
would  be  a  different  sort  of  roaring.  Did  you  ever  see  the  old 
congress  ?" 

"  I  can't  say  I  ever  saw  the  cannon  itself,  but  I  have  seen  the 
bombs  fifty  times ;  and  pokerish-looking  things  they  be,  es- 
pecially in  a  dark  night — ^but  hush,  here  they  come." 

A  large  body  of  men  now  approached,  and  moved  swiftly  . 
past  them,  in  deepest  silence,  defiling  at  the  foot  of  the  hills, 
and  marching  towards  the  shores  of  the  peninsula.  The  whole 
of  this  party  was  attired  and  accoutred  much  in  the  fashion  of 
those  who  had  received  Cecil.  One  or  two  who  were  mounted, 
and  in  more  martial  trappings,  announced  the  presence  of  some 
officers  of  higher  rank.  At  the  very  heels  of  this  detachment  of 
•soldiers,  came  a  great  number  of  carts,  which  took  the  route 
that  led  directly  up  to  the  neighboring  heights.  After  these 
came  another,  and  more  numerous  body  of  troops,  who  followed 
the  teams,  the  whole  moving  in  the  profoundest  stillness,  and. 
with  the  diligence  of  men  who  were  engaged  in  the  most  im- 
portant undertaking.  In  the  rear  of  the  whole,  another  collec- 
tion of  carts  appeared,  groaning  under  the  weight  of  large 
bundles  of  hay,  and  other  military  preparations  of  defence. 
Before  this  latter  division  left  the  low  land,  immense  numbers 
of  the  closely-packed  bundles  were  tumbled  to  the  ground,  and 
arranged  with  a  quickness  almost  magical,  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  form  a  light  breastwork  across  the  low  ground,  which  would 
otherwise  have  been  completely  exposed  to  be  swepf  by  the  shot 
of  the  royal  batteries ;  a  situation  of  things  that  was  beheved 
to  have  led  to  the  catastrophe  of  Breed's,  the  preceding  summer. 

Among  the  last  of  those  who  crossed  the  neck,  was  an 
oflScer  on  horseback,  whose  eye  was  attracted  by  the  group  who 
stood  as  idle  spectators  under  the  tree.    Pointing  out  the  latter 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


401 


object  to  tliose  around  him,  he  rode  nigher  to  the  party,  and 
leaned  forward  in  his  saddle  to  examine  their  persons. 

"  How's  this  he  exclaimed  ;  "  a  woman  and  two  men  under 
the  charge  of  sentinels !  Have  we  then  more  spies  among  us  ? 
Cut  away  the  tree,  men ;  we  have  need  of  it,  and  let  in  the 
light  of  the  moon  upon  them  ?" 

The  order  was  hardly  given  before  it  was  executed,  and  the 
tree  felled  with  a  dispatch  that,  to  any  but  an  American,  would 
appear  incredible.  Cecil  stepped  aside  from  the  impending 
branches,  and  by  moving  into  the  light,  betrayed  the  appearance 
of  a  gentlewoman  by  her  mien  and  apparel. 

"  Here  must  be  some  mistake  continued  the  officer  :  "  why 
is  the  lady  thus  guarded  ?" 

One  of  the  soldiers,  in  a  few  words,  explained  the  nature  of 
her  arrest,  and  in  return  received  directions,  anew,  how  to  pro- 
ceed. The  mounted  officer  now  put  spurs  to  his  horse,  and 
galloped  away,  in  eager  pursuit  of  more  pressing  duties,  though 
he  still  looked  behind  him,  so  long  as  the  deceptive  light  en- 
abled him  to  distinguish  either  form  or  features. 

"'Tis  advisable  to  go  on  the  heights,"  said  the  soldier,  "where 
we  may  find  the  commanding  general." 

"  Anywhere,"  returned  Cecil,  confused  with  the  activity  and 
bustle  that  had  passed  before  her  eyes,  "  or  any  thing,  to  be  re- 
lieved from  this  distressing  delay." 

In  a  very  few  moments  they  reached  the  summit  of  the  near- 
est of  the  two  hills,  where  they  paused  just  without  the  busy 
circle  of  men  who  labored  there,  while  one  of  the  soldiers  went 
in  quest  of  the  officer  in  command.  From  the  point  where  she 
now  stood,  Cecil  had  an  open  view  of  the  port,  the  town,  and 
most  of  the  adjacent  country.  The  vessels  still  reposed  heavily 
on  the  waters,  and  she  fancied  that  the  youthful  midshipman 
was  already  nestling  safe  in  his  own  hammock,  on  board  the 
frigate,  whose  tall  and  tapering  spars  rose  against  the  sky  in 
such  beautiful  and  symmetrical  lines.  No  evidences  of  alarm 
were  manifested  in  the  town ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  the  lighl^ 


4.02 


LIONEL  LINCOLL' 


were  gradually  disappearing,  notwitlistanding  the  heavy  can- 
nonade which  still  roared  along  the  western  side  of  the  penin- 
sula ;  and  it  was  probable  that  Howe,  and  his  unmoved  com- 
panions, yet  continued  their  revels,  with  the  same  security  in 
which  they  had  been  left  two  short  hours  before.  While,  with 
the  exception  of  the  batteries,  every  thing  in  the  distance  v/as 
still,  and  apparently  slumbering,  the  near  view  was  one  of  life 
and  activity.  Mounds  of  earth  were  already  rising  on  the  crest 
of  the  hill ;  laborers  were  filHng  barrels  with  earth  and  sand  ; 
fascines  were  tumbling  about  from  place  to  place,  as  they  were 
wanted ;  and  yet  the  stillness  was  only  interrupted  by  the  unre- 
mitting strokes  of  the  pick,  the  low  and  earnest  hum  of  voices, 
or  the  crashing  of  branches,  as  the  pride  of  the  neighboring  or- 
chards came  crushing  to  the  earth.  The  novelty  of  the  scene 
beguiled  Cecil  of  her  anxiety,  and  many  minutes  passed  un- 
heeded by.  Fifty  times  parties,  or  individuals  amongst  the  la- 
borers, approaching  near  her  person,  paused  to  gaze  a  moment 
at  the  speaking  and  sweet  features  that  the  placid  light  of  the 
moon  rendered  even  more  than  usually  soft,  and  then  pushed 
on  in  silence,  endeavoring  to  repair,  by  renewed  diligence,  the 
transient  forgetfulness  of  their  urgent  duties.  At  length  the 
man  returned,  and  announced  the  approach  of  the  general  who 
commanded  on  the  hill.  The  latter  was  a  soldier  of  middle 
age,  of  calm  and  collected  deportment,  roughly  attired  for  the 
occasion,  and  bearing  no  other  symbol  of  his  rank  than  the 
distinctive  crimson  cockade,  in  one  of  the  large  military  hats  of 
the  period. 

"  You  find  us  in  the  midst  of  our  labors,"  he  pleasantly  ob- 
served, as  he  approached  ;  "  and  will  overlook  the  delay  I  have 
given  you.    It  is  reported  you  left  the  town  this  evening  ?" 

"  Within  the  hour." 

"  And  Howe — dreams  he  of  the  manner  in  which  we  are 
likely  to  amuse  him  in  the  morning  ?" 

"It  would  be  affectation  in  one  like  me,"  said  Cecil,  modestly, 
"  to  decline  answering  questions  concerning  the  views  of  the 


LIONEL  LINCOLN* 


403 


royal  general ;  but  still  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  say,  that  in  my 
present  situation,  I  could  wish  to  be  spared  the  pain  of  even 
confessing  my  ignorance.'* 

"I  acknowledge  my  error,"  the  officer  unhesitatingly  an- 
swered. After  a  short  pause,  in  which  he  seemed  to  muse,  he 
continued  :  "  this  is  no  ordinary  night,  young  lady,  and  it  be- 
comes my  duty  to  refer  you  to  the  general  commanding  this 
wing  of  the  army.  He  possibly  may  think  it  necessary  to  com- 
municate your  detention  to  the  commander-in-chief." 

"  It  is  he  I  seek,  sir,  and  would  most  wish  to  meet." 

He  bowed,  and,  giving  his  orders  to  a  subaltern  in  a  low  voice, 
walked  away,  and  was  soon  lost  in  the  busy  crowd  that  came 
and  went  in  constant  employment,  around  the  summit  of  the 
hill.  Cecil  lingered  a  single  moment  after  her  new  conductor 
had  declared  his  readiness  to  proceed,  to  cast  another  glance  at 
the  calm  splendor  of  the  sea  and  bay ;  the  distant  and  smoky 
roofs  of  the  town ;  the  dim  objects  that  moved  about  the  adja- 
cent eminence,  equally  and  similarly  employed  with  those 
around  her ;  and  then  raising  her  calash,  and  tightening  the 
folds  of  her  mantle,  she  descended  the  hill  with  the  light  and 
elastic  steps  of  youth. 


404 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

"  The  rebel  vales,  the  rebel  dales, 
With  rebel  trees  surrounded, 
The  distant  woods,  the  hills  and  floods, 
"With  rebel  echoes  sounded." 

The  Battle  of  the  Keqs. 

The  enormous  white  cockade  that  covered  nearly  one  side  of 
the  little  hat  of  her  present  conductor,  was  the  only  symbol  that 
told  Cecil  she  was  now  committed  to  the  care  of  one  who  held 
the  rank  of  captain,  among  those  who  battled  for  the  rights  of 
the  colonies.  No  other  part  of  his  attire  was  military,  though 
a  cut-and-thrust  was  buckled  to  his  form,  which,  from  its  silver 
guard  and  formidable  dimensions,  had  probably  been  borne  by 
some  of  his  ancestors,  in  the  former  wars  of  the  colonies.  The 
disposition  of  its  present  wearer  was,  however,  far  from  that 
belligerent  nature  that  his  weapon  might  be  thought  to  indicate, 
for  he  tendered  the  nicest  care  and  assiduity  to  the  movements 
of  his  prisoner. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill,  a  wagon,  returning  from  the  field,  was 
put  in  requisition  by  this  semi-military  gallant ;  and,  after  a 
little  suitable  preparation,  Cecil  found  herself  seated  on  a  rude 
bench  by  his  side  in  the  vehicle  ;  while  her  own  attendants,  and 
the  two  private  men,  occupied  its  bottom  in  still  more  social 
affinity.  At  first  their  progress  was  slow  and  difficult,  return 
carts,  literally  by  hundreds,  impeding  the  way ;  but  when  they 
had  once  passed  the  heavy-footed  beasts  who  drew  them,  they 
proceeded  in  the  direction  of  Roxbury,  with  greater  rapidity. 
During  the  first  mile,  while  they  we^s  extricating  themselves 
from  the  apparently  interminable  line  of  carts,  the  officer  di- 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


405 


rected  Lis  wliole  attention  to  this  important  and  difficult  ma- 
noeuvre ;  but  when  their  uneasy  vessel  might  be  said  to  be  fairly- 
sailing  before  the  wind,  he  did  not  choose  to  neglect  those  ser- 
vices, v/hich,  from  time  immemorial,  beautiful  women  in  distress 
have  had  a  right  to  claim  of  men  in  his  profession. 

"  'No^Y  do  not  spare  the  whip,"  he  said  to  the  driver,  at  the 
moment  of  their  deliverance ;  "  but  push  on,  for  the  credit  of 
horse-flesh,  and  to  the  disgrace  of  all  horned  cattle.  This  near 
beast  of  yours  should  be  a  tory,  by  his  gait  and  reluctance  to 
pull  in  the  traces  for  the  common-good — treat  him  as  such, 
friend,  and,  in  turn,  you  shall  receive  the  treatment  of  a  sound 
whig,  when  we  make  a  halt.  You  have  spent  the  winter  in 
Boston,  madam 

Cecil  bent  her  head  in  silent  assent. 

"  The  royal  army  will,  doubtless,  make  a  better  figure  in  the 
eyes  of  a  lady,  than  the  troops  of  the  colonies ;  though  there 
are  some  among  us  who  are  thought  not  wholly  wanting  in 
military  knowledge,  and  the  certain  air  of  a  soldier,"  he  con- 
tinued, extricating  the  silver-headed  legacy  of  his  grandfather 
from  its  concealment  under  a  fold  of  his  companion's  mantle  : 
"  you  have  balls  and  entertainments  without  number,  I  fancy, 
ma'am,  from  the  gentlemen  in  the  king's  service." 

"I  believe  that  few  hearts  are  to  be  found  amongst  the  females 
in  Boston,  so  light  as  to  mingle  in  their  amusements." 

"  God  bless  them  for  it !"  exclaimed  her  escort ;  "  I  am  sure 
every  shot  we  throw  into  the  town  is  like  drawing  blood  from 
our  own  veins.  I  suppose  the  king's  officers  don't  hold  the 
colonists  so  cheap,  since  the  small  affair  on  Chaiiestown  neck, 
as  they  did  formerly  ?" 

"  None  who  had  any  interest  at  stake,  in  the  events  of  that 
fatal  day,  will  easily  forget  the  impression  it  has  made  ?" 

The  young  American  was  too  much  struck  by  the  melancholy 
pathos  in  the  voice  of  Cecil,  not  to  fancy  he  had,  in  his  own 
honest  triumph,  unwittingly  probed  a  wound  which  time  had 
not  yet  healed.    They  rode  many  minutes  after  this  unsuccessful 


400 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


effort  on  his  part  to  converse,  in  profound  silence  ;  nor  did  lie 
again  speak  until  the  trampling  of  horses'  hoofs  was  borne  along 
by  the  evening  air,  unaccompanied  by  the  lumbering  sounds  of 
wheels.  At  the  next  turn  of  the  road  they  met  a  small  caval- 
cade of  officers,  riding  at  a  rapid  rate  in  the  direction  of  the 
place  they  had  so  recently  quitted.  The  leader  of  this  party 
drew  up  when  he  saw  the  wagon,  which  was  also  stopped  in 
deference  to  his  obvious  wish  to  speak  with  them. 

There  was  something  in  the  haughty,  and  yet  easy  air  of  the 
gentleman  who  addressed  her  companion,  that  induced  Cecil  to 
attend  to  his  remarks  with  more  than  the  interest  that  is  usually 
excited  by  the  common-place  dialogues  of  the  road.  His  dress 
was  neither  civil,  nor  wholly  military,  though  his  bearing  had 
much  of  a  soldier's  manner.  As  he  drew  up,  three  or  four 
dogs  fawned  upon  him,  or  passed  with  indulged  impunity  be- 
tween the  legs  of  his  high-blooded  charger,  apparently  indiffer- 
ent to  the  impatient  repulses  that 'were  freely  bestowed  on  their 
troublesome  familiarities. 

"  High  discipline,  by  !"  exclaimed  this  singular  specimen 

of  the  colonial  chieftains — "  I  dare  presume,  gentlemen,  you  are 
from  the  heights  of  Dorchester ;  and  having  walked  the  whole 
distance  thither  from  camp,  are  disposed  to  try  the  virtues  of  a 
four-wheeled  conveyance  over  the  same  ground,  in  a  retreat !" 

The  young  man  rose  in  his  place,  and  lifted  his  hat,  with 
marked  respect,  as  he  answered — 

"  We  are  returning  from  the  hill,  sir,  it  is  true ;  but  we  must 
see  our  enemy  before  we  retreat !" 

"  A  white  cockade  !  As  you  hold  such  rank,  sir,  I  presume  you 
have  authority  for  your  movements  ?  Down,  Juno — down,  slut !" 

"  This  lady  was  landed  an  hour  since  on  the  Point,  from  the 
town,  by  a  boat  from  a  king's  ship,  sir ;  and  I  am  ordered  to  see 
her  in  safety  to  the  general  of  the  right  wing." 

"  A  lady !"  repeated  the  other,  with  singular  emphasis,  slowly 
passing  his  hand  over  his  remarkably  aquiline  and  prominent 
features ;  "  if  there  be  a  lady  in  the  case,  ease  must  be  indulged. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


407 


Will  you  down,  Juno !"  Turning  his  head  a  little  aside,  to  his 
nearest  aid,  he  added,  in  a  voice  that  was  suppressed  only  by 
the  action — "  Some  trull  of  Howe's  sent  out  as  the  newest  speci- 
men o^  loyal  modesty  !  In  such  a  case,  sir,  you  are  quite  right 
to  use  horses.  I  only  marvel  that  you  did  not  take  six  instead 
of  two.  But  how  come  we  on  in  the  trenches  ?  Down,  you 
hussy,  down  !  Thou  shouldst  go  to  court,  Juno,  and  fawn  upon 
his  majesty's  ministers,  where  thy  sycophancy  might  purchase 
thee  a  riband  1    How  come  we  on  in  the  trenches 

"  We  have  broken  ground,  sir ;  and  as  the  eyes  of  the  royal 
troops  are  drawn  upon  the  batteries,  we  shall  make  a  work  of  it 
before  the  day  shows  them  our  occupation." 

"  Ah !  we  are  certainly  good  at  digging,  if  at  no  other  part  of 
our  exercises.  Miss  Juno,  thou  puttest  thy  precious  life  in  jeop- 
ardy ! — you  will  ?  then  take  thy  fate  1"  As  he  spoke,  the  im- 
patient chief  drew  a  pistol  from  his  holster,  and  snapped  it  twice 
at  the  head  of  the  dog,  that  still  fawned  upon  him  in  unwitting 
fondness.  Angry  with  himself,  his  weapon,  and  the  animal  at 
the  same  moment,  he  turned  to  his  attendants,  and  added,  with 
bitter  deliberation — "  Gentlemen,  if  one  of  you  will  exterminate 
that  quadruped,  I  promise  him  an  honorable  place  in  my  first 
dispatches  to  congress,  for  the  service  !" 

A  groom  in  attendance  whistled  to  the  spaniel,  and  probably 
saved  the  life  of  the  disgraced  favorite. 

The  officer  now  addressed  himself  to  the  party  he  had  de- 
tained, with  a  collected  and  dignified  air,  that  show^ed  he  had 
recovered  his  self-possession,  by  saying — 

"  I  beg  pardon,  sir,  for  this  trouble — let  me  not  prevent  you 
from  proceeding;  there  may  be  serious  work  on  the  heights 
before  morning,  and  you  will  doubtless  wish  to  be  there."  He 
bowed .  with  perfect  ease  and  politeness,  and  the  two  parties 
were  slowly  passing  each  other,  when,  as  if  repenting  of  his  con- 
descension, he  turned  himself  in  his  saddle,  adding,  with  those 
sarcastic  tones  so  peculiarly  his  own — ^'  Captain,  T  beseech  thee 
have  an  especial  care  of  the  lady  P 


408 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


With  these  words  in  liis  mouth,  he  clapped  spurs  to  his  hoxde, 
and  galloped  onward,  followed  by  all  his  train,  at  the  same  im- 
petuous rate. 

Cecil  had  heard  each  syllable  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  both 
in  this  short  dialogue,  and  she  felt  a  chill  of  disappointment 
gathering  about  her  heart,  as  it  proceeded.  When  they  had 
parted,  drawing  a  long,  tremulous  breath,  she  asked,  in.  tones 
that  betrayed  all  her  feelings — 

"  And  is  this  Washington 

"  That  exclaimed  her  companion — "  No,  no,  madam,  he  is 
a  very  different  sort  of  man !  That  is  the  great  English  officer, 
whom  congress  has  made  a  general  in  our  army.  He  is  thought 
to  be  as  great  in  the  field,  as  he  is  uncouth  in  the  drawing-room 
— ^yes,  I  will  acknowledge  that  much  in  his  favor,  though  I 
never  know  how  to  understand  him ;  he  is  so  proud — so  super- 
cilious— and  yet,  he  is  a  great  friend  of  liberty !" 

Cecil  permitted  the  officer  to  reconcile  the  seeming  contradic- 
tions in  the  character  of  his  superior,  in  his  own  way,  feeling 
perfectly  relieved,  when  she  understood  it  was  not  the  man  who 
could  have  any  influence  on  her  own  destiny.  The  driver  now 
appeared  anxious  to  recover  the  lost  time,  and  he  urged  his 
horses  over  the  ground  with  increased  rapidity.  The  remainder 
of  their  short  drive  to  the  vicinity  of  Eoxbury,  passed  in  silence. 
As  the  cannonading  was  still  maintained  with  equal  warmth  by 
both  parties,  it  was  hazarding  too  much  to  place  themselves  in 
the  line  of  the  enemy's  fire.  The  young  man,  therefore,  after 
finding  a  secure  spot  among  the  uneven  ground  of  the  vicinity, 
where  he  might  leave  his  charge  in  safety,  proceeded  by  him- 
self to  the  point  where  he  had  reason  to  believe  he  should  find 
the  officer  ho.  was  ordered  to  seek.  During  his  short  absence, 
Cecil  remained  in  the  wagon,  an  appalled  listener,  and  a  partial 
spectator  of  the  neighboring  contest. 

The  Americans  had  burst  their  only  mortar  of  size,  the  pre- 
ceding night;  but  they  applied  their  cannon  with  unwearied 
diligence,  not  only  in  the  face  of  the  British  intrenchments,  but 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


409 


on  the  low  land,  across  tlie  estuary  of  the  Charles;  and  still 
farther  to  the  north,  in  front  of  the  position  which  their  enemies 
held  on  the  well-known  heights  of  Charlestown.  In  retahation 
for  this  attack,  the  batteries  along  the  western  side  of  the  town 
were  in  a  constant  blaze  of  fire,  while  those  of  the  eastern 
continued  to  slumber,  in  total  unconsciousness  of  the  coming 
danger. 

When  the  officer  returned,  he  reported  that  his  search  had 
been  successful,  and  that  he  had  been  commanded  to  conduct 
his  charge  into  the  presence  of  the  American  commander-in- 
chief.  This  new  arrangement  imposed  the  necessity  of  driving 
a  few  miles  farther  ;  and  as  the  youth  began  to  regard  his  new 
duty  with  some  impatience,  he  was  in  no  humor  for  delay.  The 
route  was  circuitous  and  safe,  the  roads  good,  and  the  driver 
dihgent.  In  consequence,  within  the  hour  they  passed  the  river, 
and  Cecil  found  herself,  after  so  long  an  absence,  once  more  ap- 
proaching the  ancient  provincial  seat  of  learning. 

The  little  village,  though  in  the  hands  of  friends,  exhibited 
the  infallible  evidences  of  the  presence  of  an  irregular  army. 
The  buildings  of  the  University  were  filled  with  troops,  and  the 
doors  of  the  different  inns  were  thronged  with  noisy  soldiers, 
who  were  assembled  for  the  inseparable  purposes  of  revelry  and 
folly.  The  officer  drove  to  one  of  the  most  private  of  these 
haunts  of  the  unthinking  and  idle,  and  declared  his  intentions 
to  deposit  his  charge  under  its  roof,  until  he  could  learn  the 
pleasure  of  the  American  leader.  Cecil  heard  his  arrangements 
with  little  satisfaction ;  but,  yielding  to  the  necessity  of  the  case, 
when  the  vehicle  had  stopped,  she  alighted,  without  remon- 
strance. With  her  two  attendants  in  her  train,  and  preceded 
by  the  officer,  she  passed  through  the  noisy  crowd,  not  only 
without  insult,  but  without  molestation.  The  different  declaim- 
ers  in  the  throng,  and  they  were  many,  even  lowered  their 
clamorous  voices  as  she  approached,  the  men  giving  way,  in 
deference  for  her  sex;  and  she  entered  the  building  without 
hearing  but  one  remark  applied  to  herself,  though  a  low  and 

IS 


410 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


curious  buzz  of  voices  followed  her  footsteps  to  its  very  threshold. 
That  solitary  remark  was  a  sudden  exclamation,  in  admiration 
of  the  grace  of  her  movements  ;  and,  singular  as  it  may  seem, 
her  companion  thought  it  necessary  to  apologize  for  its  rudeness, 
by  whispering  that  it  had  proceeded  from  the  lips  of  "  one  of 
the  southern  riflemen ;  a  corps  as  distinguished  for  its  skill  and 
bravery,  as  for  its  want  of  breeding  !" 

The  inside  of  this  inn  presented  a  very  different  aspect  from 
Its  exterior.  The  decent  tradesman  who  kept  it,  had  so  far 
yielded  to  the  emergency  of  the  times,  and  perhaps,  also,  to  a 
certain  propensity  towards  gain,  as  temporarily  to  adopt  the 
profession  he  followed ;  but  by  a  sort  of  implied  compact  with 
the  crowd  without,  while  he  administered  to  their  appetite  for 
liquor,  he  preserved  most  of  the  privacy  of  his  domestic  arrange- 
ments. He  had,  however,  been  compelled  to  relinquish  one 
apartment  entirely  to  the  service  of  the  public,  into  which  Cecil 
and  her  companions  were  shown,  as  a  matter  of  course,  without 
the  smallest  apology  for  its  condition. 

There  might  have  been  a  dozen  people  in  the  common 
room ;  some  of  whom  were  quietly  seated  before  its  large  fire, 
among  whom  were  one  or  two  females;  some  walking,  and 
others  distributed  on  chairs,  as  accident  or  inclination  had 
placed  them.  A  slight  movement  was  made  at  the  entrance  of 
Cecil,  but  it  soon  subsided ;  though  her  rich  mantle  of  fine  cloth, 
and  silken  calash,  did  not  fail  to  draw  the  eyes  of  the  women 
upon  her,  with  a  ruder  gaze  than  she  had  yet  encountered  from 
the  other  sex,  during  the  hazardous  adventures  of  the  night. 
She  took  an  ofiered  seat  near  the  bright  and  cheerful  blaze  on 
the  hearth,  which  imparted  all  the  light  the  room  contained, 
and  disposed  herself  to  wait  in  patience  the  return  of  her  con- 
ductor, who  immediately  took  his  departure  for  the  neighboring 
quarters  of  the  American  chief. 

"  'Tis  an  awful  time  for  women  bodies  to  journey  in !"  said  a 
middle-aged  woman  near  her,  who  was  busily  engaged  in  knit- 
ting, though  she  also  bore  the  marks  of  a  traveller  in  her  dress 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


411 


- — "  I'm  sure  if  I  had  thouglit  there'd  ha'  been  such  contentions, 
I  would  never  have  crossed  the  Connecticut ;  though  I  have  an 
only  child  in  camp  I" 

"  To  a  mother,  the  distress  must  be  great,  indeed,"  said  Cecil, 
"  when  she  hears  the  report  of  a  contest  in  which  she  knows 
her  children  are  engaged." 

"  Yes,  Royal  is  engaged  as  a  six-months'-man,  and  he  is  partly 
agreed  to  stay  till  the  king's  troops  conclude  to  give  up  the 
town." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  said  a  grave  looking  yeoman,  who  occupied 
the  opposite  corner  of  the  fireplace,  "  your  child  has  an  unfit- 
ting name  for  one  who  fights  against  the  crown !" 

"Ah,  he  was  so  called  before  the  king  wore  his  Scottish 
Boot !  and  what  has  once  been  solemnly  named,  in  holy  bap- 
tism, is  not  to  be  changed  with  the  shift  of  the  times !  They 
were  twins,  and  I  called  one  Prince  and  the  other  Royal ;  for 
they  were  born  the  day  his  present  majesty  came  to  man's 
estate.  That,  you  know,  was  before  his  heart  had  changed, 
and  when  the  people  of  the  Bay  loved  him  little  less  than  they 
did  their  own  flesh  and  blood." 

"Why,  Goody,"  said  the  yeoman,  smiling  good-humoredly, 
and  rising  to  ofier  her  a  pinch  of  his  real  Scotch,  in  token  of 
amity,  while  he  made  so  free  with  her  domestic  matters — "  you 
had  then  an  heir  to  the  throne  in  your  own  family !  The  Prince 
Royal,  they  say,  comes  next  to  the  king ;  and  by  your  tell,  one 
of  them,  at  least,  is  a  worthy  fellow,  who  is  not  hkely  to  sell 
his  heritage  for  a  mess  of  pottage  !  If  I  understand  you.  Royal 
is  here  in  service  ?" 

"  He's  at  this  blessed  moment  in  one  of  the  battering-rams 
in  front  of  Boston-neck,"  returned  the  woman ;  "  and  the  Lord, 
he  knows,  'tis  an  awful  calling,  to  be  beating  down  the  housen 
of  people  of  the  same  religion  and  blood  with  ourselves !  but 
so  it  must  be,  to  prevail  over  the  wicked  designs  of  such  as 
would  live  in  pomp  and  idleness,  by  the  sweat  and  labor  of 
their  fellow-creatures." 


412 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


The  honest  yeoman,  wlio  was  somewhat  more  famihar  with 
the  terms  of  modern  warfare  than  the  woman,  smiled  at  her 
mistake,  while  he  pursued  the  conversation  with  a  peculiar 
gravity,  which  rendered  his  humor  doubly  droll. 

"  'Tis  to  be  hoped  the  boy  will  not  weary  at  the  weapon  be- 
fore the  morning  cometh.  But  why  does  Prince  linger  behind, 
in  such  a  moment  ?  Tarries  he  with  his  father,  on  the  home- 
stead, in  safety,  being  the  younger  born 

"  No,  no,"  said  the  woman,  shaking  her  head  in  sorrow ;  "  he 
dwells,  I  trust,  with  our  common  Father,  in  heaven !  JSTeither 
are  you  right  in  calling  him  the  home-child.  He  was  my  first- 
born, and  a  comely  .youth  he  grew  to  be !  "When  the  cry  that 
the  reg'lars  were  out  at  Lexington,  to  kill  and  destroy,  passed 
through  the  country,  he  shouldered  his  musket,  and  came  down 
with  the  people,  to  know  the  reason  the  land  was  stained  with 
American  blood.  He  was  young,  and  full  of  ambition  to  be 
foremost  among  them  who  were  willing  to  fight  for  their  birth- 
rights ;  and  the  last  I  ever  heard  of  him  was  in  the  midst  of 
the  king's  troops  on  Breed's.  IS'o,  no ;  his  body  never  came 
ofi"  the  hill  1  The  neighbors  sent  me  up  the  clothes  he  left  in 
camp,  and  'tis  one  of  his  socks  that  I'm  now  footing  for  his 
twin-brother." 

The  woman  delivered  this  simple  explanation  with  perfect 
calmness ;  though,  as  she  advanced  in  the  subject,  large  tears 
started  from  her  eyes,  and,  following  each  other  down  her 
cheeks,  fell  unheeded  upon  the  humble  garment  of  her  dead 
son. 

"  This  is  the  way  our  bravest  striplings  are  cut  off",  fighting 
with  the  scum  of  Europe !"  exclaimed  the  yeoman,  with  a  warmth 
that  showed  how  powerfully  his  feelings  were  touched.  "  I  hope 
the  boy  who  lives  inay  find  occasion  to  revenge  his  brother's 
death." 

"  God  forbid  !  God  forbid  !"  exclaimed  the  weeping  mother — 
"  revenge  is  an  evil  passion ;  and  least  of  all  would  I  wish  a 
child  of  mine  to  go  into  the  field  of  blood  with  so  foul  a  breast. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


God  has  given  us  this  land  to  dwell  in,  and  to  rear  up  temples 
and  worshippers  of  his  holy  name  ;  and  in  giving  it,  he  bestow- 
ed the  right  to  defend  it  against  all  earthly  oppression.  If 
'twas  right  for  Prince  to  come,  'twas  right  for  Royal  to  fol- 
low !" 

"  I  believe  I  am  reproved  in  justice,"  returned  the  man,  look- 
ing around  at  the  spectators  with  an  eye  that  no  longer  teemed 
with  a  hidden  meaning.  "  God  bless  you,  my  good  woman, 
and  deliver  you,  with  your  remaining  boy,  and  all  of  us,  from 
the  scourge  which  has  been  inflicted  on  the  country  for  our  sins. 
I  go  west,  into  the  mountains,  with  the  sun  ;  and  if  I  can  carry 
any  word  of  comfort  from  you  to  the  good  man  at  home,  it  will 
not  be  a  hill  or  two  that  shall  hinder  it." 

"  The  same  thanks  to  you  for  the  offer,  as  if  you  did  it, 
friend ;  my  man  would  be  right  glad  to  see  you  at  his  settle- 
ment ;  but  I  sicken  already  with  the  noises  and  awful  sights  of 
warfare,  and  shall  not  tarry  long  after  my  son  comes  forth  from 
the  battle.  I  shall  go  down  to  Cragie's  house  in  the  morning, 
and  look  upon  the  blessed  man  whom  the  people  have  chosen 
from  among  themselves  as  a  leader,  and  hurry  back  again ;  for 
I  plainly  see  that  this  is  not  an  abiding-place  for  such  as  I !" 

"  You  will  then  have  to  follow  him  into  the  line  of  danger  ; 
for  I  saw  him,  within  the  hour,  riding,  with  all  his  followers, 
towards  the  water-side  ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  this  unusual  waste 
of  ammunition  is  intended  for  more  than  we  of  little  wit  can 
guess." 

"  Of  whom  speak  you  ?"  Cecil  involuntarily  asked. 

"  Of  whom  should  he  speak,  but  of  Washington  ?"  returned 
a  deep,  low  voice  at  her  elbow,  whose  remarkable  sounds  in- 
stantly recalled  the  tones  of  the  aged  messenger  of  death,  who 
had  appeared  at  the  bedside  of  her  grandmother.  Cecil  started 
from  her  chair,  and  recoiled  several  paces  from  the  person  of 
Ralph,  who  stood  regarding  her  with  a  steady  and  searching 
look,  heedless  of  the  observation  they  attracted,  as  well  as  of  the 
number  and  quality  of  the  spectators. 


414 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  We  are  not  strangers,  young  lady,"  continued  the  old  man ; 
"  and  you  will  excuse  me  if  I  add,  that  the  face  of  an  acquaint- 
ance must  be  grateful  to  one  of  your  gentle  sex,  in  a  place  so 
unsettled  and  disorderly  as  this." 

"  An  acquaintance  ?"  repeated  the  unprotected  bride. 

"  I  said  an  acquaintance ;  we  know  each  other,  surely,"  re- 
turned Ealph,  with  marked  emphasis ;  "  you  will  believe  me 
when  I  add,  that  I  have  seen  the  two  men  in  the  guard-room, 
which  is  at  hand." 

Cecil  cast  a  furtive  glance  behind  her,  and,  with  some  alarm, 
perceived  that  she  was  separated  from  Meriton  and  the  stranger. 
Before  time  was  allowed  for  recollection,  the  old  man  approached 
her  with  a  courtly  breeding,  that  was  rendered  more  striking 
by  the  coarseness  as  well  as  negligence  of  his  attire. 

"  This  is  not  a  place  for  the  niece  of  an  English  peer,"  he 
said ;  "  but  I  have  long  been  at  home  in  this  warlike  village, 
and  will  conduct  you  to  another  residence,  more  suited  to  your 
sex  and  condition." 

For  an  instant  Cecil  hesitated ;  but  observing  the  wondering 
faces  about  her,  and  the  intense  curiosity  with  which  all  in  the 
room  suspended  their  several  pursuits,  to  listen  to  each  syllable, 
she  timidly  accepted  his  offered  hand,  suffering  him  to  lead  her, 
not  only  from  the  room,  but  the  house,  in  profound  silence. 
The  door  through  which  they  left  the  building  was  opposite 
to  that  by  which  she  had  entered ;  and  when  they  found 
themselves  in  the  open  air,  it  was  in  a  different  street,  and  a 
short  distance  removed  from  the  crowd  of  revellers  already 
mentioned. 

"  I  have  left  two  attendants  behind  me,"  she  said,  "  without 
whom  'tis  impossible  to  proceed." 

"  As  they  are  watched  by  armed  men,  you  have  no  choice 
but  to  share  their  confinement,  or  to  submit  to  the  temporary 
separation,"  returned  the  other,  calmly.  "  Should  his  keepers 
discover  the  character  of  him  who  led  you  hither,  his  fate 
would  be  certain !" 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


415 


"  His  character  1"  repeated  Cecil,  again  shrinking  from  the 
touch  of  the  old  man. 

"  Surely  my  words  are  plain  !  I  said  his  character.  Is  he 
not  the  deadly,  obstinate  enemy  of  liberty  ?  And  think  you 
these  countrymen  of  ours  so  dull  as  to  suffer  one  like  him  to  go 
at  large  in  their  very  camp  ?  ISTo,  no,"  he  muttered,  with  a 
low,  but  exulting  laugh ;  "  like  a  fool  has  he  tempted  his  fate, 
and  like  a  dog  shall  he  meet  it !  Let  us  proceed ;  the  house 
is  but  a  step  from  this,  and  you  may  summon  him  to  your 
presence  if  you  will." 

Cecil  was  rather  impelled  by  her  companion  than  induced  to 
proceed,  when,  as  he  had  said,  they  soon  stopped  before  the 
door  of  a  humble  and  retired  building.  An  armed  man  paced 
along  its  front,  while  the  lengthened  shadow  of  another  sentinel 
in  the  rear  was  every  half-minute  thrown  far  into  the  street,  in 
confirmation  of  the  watchfulness  that  was  kept  over  those  who 
dwelt  within. 

"  Proceed,"  said  Ralph,  throwing  open  the  outer  door,  without 
hesitation.  Cecil  complied,  but  started  at  encountering  another 
man,  trailing  a  musket,  as  he  paced  to  and  fro  in  the  narrow 
passage  that  received  her.  Between  this  sentinel  and  Ralph 
there  seemed  to  exist  a  good  understanding,  for  the  latter  ad  - 
dressed  him  with  perfect  freedom — 

"  Has  no  order  been  yet  received  from  Washington  ?"  he 
asked. 

"  'None ;  and  I  rather  conclude,  by  the  delay,  that  nothing 
very  favorable  is  to  be  expected." 

The  old  man  muttered  to  himself  but  passed  on,  and,  throw- 
ing open  another  door,  said — 

"  Enter." 

Again  Cecil  complied,  the  door  closing  on  her  at  the  instant ; 
but  before  she  had  time  to  express  either  her  wonder  or  her 
alarm,  she  was  folded  in  the  arms  of  her  husband. 


416 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

"  Is  she  a  Capulet  ? 
O  dear  account !  my  life  is  my  foe's  debt." 

EOMEO. 

"  Ah  !  Lincoln !  Lincoln  !"  cried  tlie  weeping  bride,  gently 
extricating  herself  from  the  long  embrace  of  Lionel^  "  hi  what 
a  moment  did  you  desert  me  !" 

"  And  how  have  I  been  punished,  love  !  a  night  of  frenzy, 
and  a  morrow  of  useless  regrets !  How  early  have  I  been  made 
to  feel  the  strength  of  those  ties  which  unite  us ! — unless,  in- 
deed, my  own  folly  may  have  already  severed  them  forever  1" 

"  Truant !  I  know  you  !  and  shall  hereafter  weave  a  web,  with 
woman's  art,  to  keep  you  in  my  toils  !  If  you  love  me,  Lionel, 
as  I  would  fain  believe,  let  all  the  past  be  forgotten.  I  ask — I 
wish  no  explanation.  You  have  been  deceived,  and  that  re- 
pentant eye  assures  me  of  your  returning  reason.  Let  us  now 
speak  only  of  yourself.  "Why  do  I  find  you  thus  guarded,  more 
like  a  criminal  than  an  ofiicer  of  the  crown  f 

"  They  have,  indeed,  bestowed  especial  watchfulness  on  my 
safety." 

"  How  came  you  in  their  power  ?  and  why  do  they  abuse 
their  advantage 

"  'Tis  easily  explained.  Presuming  on  the  tempostuousness 
of  the  night — what  a  bridal  was  ours,  Cecil !" 

"  Twas  terrible  !"  she  answered,  shuddering ;  then,  with  a 
bright  and  instant  smile,  as  if  sedulous  to  chase  every  appear- 
ance of  distrust  or  care  from  her  countenance,  she  continued — 
"  but  I  have  no  longer  faith  in  omens,  Lincoln !  or,  if  one  has 
been  given,  is  not  the  awful  fulfilment  already  come  ?"   I  know 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


417 


not  how  you  value  the  benedictions  of  a  parting  soul,  Lionel, 
but  to  me  there  is  holy  consolation  in  knowing  that  my  dying 
parent  left  her  blessing  on  our  sudden  union." 

Disregarding  the  hand  which,  with  gentle  earnestness,  she 
had  laid  upon  his  shoulder,  he  walked  gloomily  away,  into  a 
distant  corner  of  the  apartment. 

"  Cecil,  I  do  love  you,  as  you  would  fain  believe,"  he  said, 
and  I  listen  readily  to  your  wish  to  bury  the  past  in  oblivion. 
But  I  leave  my  tale  unfinished.  You  know  the  night  was  such 
that  none  would  choose,  uselessly,  to  brave  its  fury  :  I  attempted 
to  profit  by  the  storm,  and  availing  myself  of  a  flag,  which  is 
regularly  granted  to  the  simpleton,  Job  Pray,  I  left  the  town. 
Impatient — do  I  say  impatient  ? — borne  along  rather  by  a  tem- 
pest of  passions  that  mocked  the  feebler  elements,  we  ventured 
too  much.    Cecil,  I  was  not  alone  I" 

"  I  know  it — I  know  it,"  she  said,  hurriedly,  though  speaking 
barely  above  her  breath  :  "  you  ventured  too  much — " 

"  And  encountered  a  piquet  that  would  not  mistake  a  royal 
officer  for  an  impoverished,  though  privileged  idiot.  In  our 
anxiety  we  overlooked — believe  me,  dearest  Cecil,  that  if  you 
knew  all — the  scene  I  had  witnessed — the  motives  which 
urged — they,  at  least,  would  justify  this  strange  and  seeming 
desertion." 

"  Did  I  doubt  it,  would  I  forget  my  condition,  my  recent  loss 
and  my  sex,  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  one  unworthy  of  my 
solicitude !"  returned  the  bride,  coloring  as  much  with  innate 
modesty,  as  with  the  power  of  her  emotions.  "  Think  not  I 
come,  with  girlish  weakness,  to  reproach  you  with  any  fancied 
wrongs.  I  am  your  wife.  Major  Lincoln  ;  and  as  such  would  I 
serve  you,  at  a  moment  when  I  know  all  the  tenderness  of  the 
tie  will  most  be  needed.  At  the  altar,  and  in  the  presence  of 
my  God,  have  I  acknowledged  the  sacred  duty ;  and  shall  I 
hesitate  to  discharge  it  because  the  eyes  of  man  are  on  me  ?" 

"  I  shall  go  mad  ! — I  shall  go  mad  !"  cried  Lionel,  in  ungov- 
ernable mental  anguish,  as  he  paced  the  floor,  in  violent  disor- 


418 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


der.  "  There  are  moments  when  I  think  that  the  curse,  which 
destroyed  the  father,  has  already  lighted  on  the  son  !" 

"  Lionel !"  said  the  soft,  soothing  voice  of  his  companion,  at 
his  elbow,  "  is  this  to  render  me  more  happy — the  welcome 
you  bestow  on  the  conMing  girl  who  has  committed  her  hap- 
piness to  your  keeping  ?  I  see  you  relent,  and  will  be  more 
just  to  us  both — more  dutiful  to  your  God !  Now  let  us  speak 
of  your  confinement.  Surely,  you  are  not  suspected  of  any 
criminal  designs  in  this  rash  visit  to  the  camp  of  the  Americans  1 
'Twere  easy  to  convince  their  leaders  that  you  are  innocent  of 
so  base  a  purpose." 

"  'Tis  difficult  to  evade  the  vigilance  of  those  who  struggle 
for  liberty !"  returned  the  low,  calm  voice  of  Ealph,  who  stood 
before  them,  unexpectedly.  "  Major  Lincoln  has  too  long  listened 
to  the  counsels  of  tyrants  and  slaves,  and  forgotten  the  land  of 
his  birth.  If  he  would  be  safe,  let  him  retract  the  error,  while 
yet  he  may,  with  honor." 

"  Honor  !"  repeated  Lionel,  with  unconcealed  disdain — again 
pacing  the  room  with  swift  and  uneasy  steps,  without  deigning 
any  other  notice  of  the  unwelcome  intruder.  Cecil  bowed  her 
head,  and,  sinking  in  a  chair,  concealed  her  face  in  her  small 
muff,  as  if  to  exclude  some  horrid  and  fearful  sight  from  her 
view. 

The  momentary  silence  was  broken  by  the  sound  of  footsteps 
and  of  voices  in  the  jpassage,  and  at  the  next  instant,  the  door 
of  the  room  opening,  Meriton  was  seen  on  its  threshold.  His 
appearance  roused  Cecil,  who,  springing  on  her  feet,  beck- 
oned him  away,  with  a  sort  of  phrensied  earnestness,  exclaim- 
ing— 

"  Not  here  ! — not  here  !    For  the  love  of  Heaven,  not  here  !" 

The  valet  hesitated,  but,  catching  a  glimpse  of  his  master,  his 
attachment  got  the  ascendency  of  his  respect. 

"  God  be  praised  for  this  blessed  sight.  Master  Lionel !"  he 
cried  :  "  'tis  the  happiest  hour  I  have  seen  since  I  lost  the  look 
at  the  shores  of  old  England !    If  'twas  only  at  RavensclifFe,  or 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


419 


'n  Sohoj  I  should  be  the  most  contented  fool  in  the  three  king- 
doms !  Ah,  Master  Lionel,  let  us  get  out  of  this  province,  into 
the  country,  where  there  is  no  rebels ;  or  any  thing  worse  than 
King,  Lords,  and  Commons !" 

"  Enough  now  ;  for  this  time,  worthy  Meriton,  enough  !"  in- 
teiTjpted  Cecil,  breathing  with  difficulty,  in  her  eagerness  to  be 
heard.  "  Go — return  to  the  inn — the  colleges — anywhere — do 
but  go  1" 

"  Don't  send  a  loyal  subject,  ma'am,  again  among  the  rebels, 
I  desire  to  entreat  of  you.  Such  awful  blasphemies,  sir,  as  I 
heard  while  I  was  there !  They  spoke  of  his  sacred  majesty 
just  as  freely,  sir,  as  if  he  had  been  a  gentleman  hke  yourself. 
J oyful  was  the  news  of  my  release  !" 

"  And  had  it  been  a  guard-room  on  the  opposite  shore,"  said 
Ealph,  "  the  liberties  they  used  with  your  earthly  monarch 
would  have  been  as  freely  taken  with  the  King  of  kings  !" 

"  You  shall  remain,  then,"  said  Cecil,  probably  mistaking  the 
look  of  high  disdain  which  Meriton  bestowed  on  his  aged  fellow- 
voyager,  for  one  of  a  very  different  meaning — "  but  not  here. 
You  have  other  apartments.  Major  Lincoln ;  let  my  attendants 
be  received  there — you  surely  would  not  admit  the  menials  to 
our  interview !" 

"  Why  this  sudden  terror,  love  ?  Here,  if  not  happy,  you  at 
least  are  safe.  Go,  Meriton,  into  the  adjoining  room;  if  wanted, 
there  is  admission  through  this  door  of  communication." 

The  valet  murmured  some  half-uttered  sentences,  of  which 
only  the  emphatic  word  "  genteel "  was  audible  ;  while  the  di- 
rection of  his  discontented  eye  sufficiently  betrayed  that  Ralph 
was  the  subject  of  his  meditations.  The  old  man  followed  his 
footsteps,  and  the  door  of  the  passage  soon  closed  on  both, 
leaving  Cecil  standing,  like  a  beautiful  statue,  in  an  attitude  of 
absorbed  thought.  When  the  noise  of  her  attendants,  as  they 
quietly  entered  the  adjoining  room,  was  heard,  she  breathed 
again,  with  a  tremulous  sigh,  that  seemed  to  raise  a  weight  of 
apprehension  from  her  heart. 


420 


LIONKI.  LINCOLN, 


"  Fear  not  for  me,  Cecil,  and  least  of  all  for  yourself,"  said 
Lionel,  drawing  lier  to  his  bosom  with  fond  solicitude  :  "  my 
headlong  rashness,  or  rather  that  fatal  bane  to  the  happiness  of 
my  house,  the  distempered  feeling  which  you  must  have  often 
seen  and  deplored,  has  indeed  led  me  into  a  seeming  danger. 
But  I  have  a  reason  for  my  conduct,  which,  avowed,  shall  lull 
the  suspicions  of  even  our  enemies  to  sleep." 

"  I  have  no  suspicions — no  knowledge  of  any  imperfections — 
no  regrets,  Lionel ; — nothing  but  the  most  ardent  wishes  for 
your  peace  of  mind ;  and,  if  I  might  explain ! — yes,  now  is  a 
time — Lionel,  kind,  but  truant  Lionel — " 

Her  words  were  interrupted  by  Ralph,  who  appeared  again 
in  the  room,  with  that  noiseless  step,  which,  in  conjunction  with 
his  great  age  and  attenuated  frame,  sometimes  gave  to  his  move- 
ments and  aspect  the  character  of  a  being  superior  to  the  attri- 
butes of  humanity.  On  his  arm  he  bore  an  overcoat  and  a 
hat,  both  of  which  Cecil  recognized,  at  a  glance,  as  the  property 
of  the  unknown  man  who  had  attended  her  person  throughout 
all  the  vicissitudes  of  that  eventful  night. 

"  See  1"  said  Ralph,  exhibiting  his  spoils  with  a  ghastly,  but 
meaning  smile,  "  see  in  how  many  forms  Liberty  appears  to  aid 
her  votaries  !  Here  is  the  guise  in  which  she  will  now  be  court- 
ed !    Wear  them,  young  man,  and  be  free  !" 

"  Believe  him  not — listen  not,"  whispered  Cecil,  while  she 
shrunk  from  his  approach  in  undisguised  terror  :  "  nay,  do 
listen,  but  act  with  caution  !" 

"  Dost  thou  delay  to  receive  the  blessed  boon  of  freedom,  when 
oflfered  ?"  demanded  Ralph.  "  Wouldst  thou  remain,  and  brave 
the  angry  justice  of  the  American  chief,  and  make  thy  wife,  of 
a  day,  a  widow  for  an  age  f 

"  In  what  manner  am  I  to  profit  by  this  dress  ?"  said  Lionel. 
"  To  submit  to  the  degradation  of  a  disguise,  success  should  be 
certain." 

"  Turn  thy  haughty  eyes,  young  man,  on  the  picture  of  inno- 
cence and  terror  at  thy  side.    For  the  sake  of  her  whose  fate  ia 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


421 


wrapped  in  tliine,  if  not  for  your  own,  consult  tliy  safety,  and 
fly — another  minute  may  be  too  late." 

"  Oil !  hesitate  not  a  moment  longer,  Lincoln,"  cried  Cecil, 
with  a  change  of  purpose  as  sudden  as  the  impulse  was  power- 
ful :  "  fly — leave  me ;  my  sex  and  station  will  be — " 

"  Never,"  said  Lionel,  casting  the  garment  from  him,  in  cool 
disdain.  "  Once,  when  Death  was  busy,  did  I  abandon  thee ; 
but,  ere  I  do  it  again,  his  blow  must  fall  on  me  !" 

"  I  will  follow — I  will  join  you." 

"  You  shall  not  part,"  said  Ralph,  once  more  raising  the  re- 
jected coat,  and  lending  his  aid  to  envelop  the  form  of  Lionel, 
who  stood  passive  under  the  united  efforts  of  his  bride  and  her 
aged  assistant.  "  Remain  here,"  the  latter  added,  when  their  brief 
task  was  ended,  "  and  await  the  summons  to  freedom.  And 
thou,  sweet  flower  of  innocence  and  love,  follow  and  share  in 
the  honor  of  liberating  him  who  has  enslaved  thee  1" 

Cecil  blushed  with  virgin  shame,  at  the  strength  of  his  ex- 
pressions, but  bowed  her  head  in  silent  acquiescence  to  his  will. 
Proceeding  to  the  door,  he  beckoned  her  to  approach,  indica- 
ting, by  an  expressive  gesture  to  Lionel,  that  he  w^as  to  remain 
stationary.  When  Cecil  had  complied,  and  they  were  in  the 
narrow  passage  of  the  building,  Ralph,  instead  of  betraying  any 
apprehension  of  the  sentinel  wlio  paced  its  length,  fearlessly 
approached,  and  addressed  him  with  the  confidence  of  a  known 
friend — 

"  See !"  he  said,  removing  the  calash  from  before  the  pale 
features  of  his  companion,  "  how  terror  for  the  fate  of  her  hus- 
band has  caused  the  good  child  to  weep  !  She  quits  him  now, 
friend,  with  one  of  her  attendants,  while  the  other  tarries  to 
administer  to  his  master's  wants.  Look  at  her ;  is't  not  a  sweet, 
though  mourning  partner,  to  smooth  the  path  of  a  soldier's 
lifer 

The  man  seemed  awkwardly  sensible  of  the  unusual  charms 
that  Ralph  so  unceremoniously  exhibited  to  his  view ;  and  while 
he  stood  in  admiring  embarrassment,  ashamed  to  gaze,  and  yet 


422 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


unwilling  to  retire,  Cecil  traced  the  light  footsteps  of  the  old 
man  entering  the  room  occupied  by  Meriton  and  the  stranger. 
She  was  still  in  the  act  of  veiling  her  features  from  the  eyes  of 
the  sentinel,  when  Kalph  reappeared,  attended  by  a  figure  muf- 
fled in  the  well-known  overcoat.  Notwithstanding  the  flopped 
hat,  and  studied  concealment  of  his  gait,  the  keen  eyes  of  the 
wife  penetrated  the  disguise  of  her  husband ;  and  recollecting,  at 
the  same  instant,  the  door  of  communication  between  the  two 
apartments,  the  whole  artifice  was  at  once  revealed.  With 
trembling  eagerness  she  glided  past  the  sentinel,  and  pressed  to 
the  side  of  Lionel,  with  a  dependence  that  might  have  betrayed 
the  deception  to  one  more  accustomed  to  the  forms  of  life,  than 
was  the  honest  countryman  who  had  so  recently  thrown  aside 
the  flail  to  carry  a  musket. 

Ralph  allowed  the  sentinel  no  time  to  deliberate ;  but  waving 
his  hand  in  token  of  adieu,  he  led  the  way  into  the  street  with 
his  accustomed  activity.  Here  they  found  themselves  in  the 
presence  of  the  other  soldier,  who  moved  to  and  fro,  along  the 
allotted  ground  in  front  of  the  building,  rendering  the  watch- 
fulness, "by  which  they  were  environed,  doubly  embarrassing. 
Following  the  example  of  their  aged  conductor,  Lionel  and  his 
trembling  companion  walked  with  apparent  indifference  towards 
this  man,  who,  as  it  proved,  was  better  deserving  of  his  trust 
than  his  fellow  within  doors.  Dropping  his  musket  across  their 
path,  in  a  manner  which  announced  an  intention  to  inquire  into 
their  movements,  before  he  suffered  them  to  proceed,  he  roughly 
demanded — 

"  How's  this,  old  gentleman  ?  you  come  out  of  the  prisoners' 
rooms  by  squads !  one,  two,  three ;  our  English  gallant  might 
be  among  you,  and  there  would  still  be  two  left !  Come,  come, 
old  father,  render  some  account  of  yourself,  and  of  your  com- 
mand. For,  to  be  plain  with  you,  there  are  those  who  think 
you  are  no  better  than  a  spy  of  Howe's,  notwithstanding  you 
are  left  to  run  up  and  down  the  camp,  as  you  please.  In  plain 
Yankee  dialect,  and  that's  intelligible  English,  you  have  been 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


423 


caught  in  bad  company  of  late,  and  there  has  been  hard  talk 
about  shutting  you  up,  as  well  as  your  comrade." 

"  Hear  ye  that  ?"  said  Ralph,  calmly  smiling,  and  addressing 
himself  to  his  companions,  instead  of  the  man  whose  interrog- 
atories, he  was  expected  to  answer — "  think  you  the  hirelings 
of  the  crown  are  thus  alert  ?  Would  not  the  slaves  be  sleeping 
the  moment  the  eyes  of  their  tyrants  are  turned  on  their  own 
lawless  pleasures  ?  Thus  it  is  with  liberty.  The  sacred  spirit 
hallows  its  meanest  votaries,  and  elevates  the  private  to  all  the 
virtues  of  the  proudest  captain  1" 

"  Come,  come,"  returned  the  flattered  sentinel,  throwing  his 
musket  back  to  his  shoulder  again, "  I  believe  a  man  gains  noth- 
ing by  battling  you  with  words.  I  should  have  spent  a  year 
or  two  inside  yonder  colleges  to  dive  at  all  your  meaning. 
Though  I  can  guess  you  are  more  than  half  right  in  one  thing ; 
for  if  a  poor  fellow,  who  loves  his  country,  and  the  good  cause, 
finds  it  so  hard  to  keep  his  eyes  open  on  post,  what  must  it 
be  to  a  half-starved  devil  on  sixpence  a-day!  Go  along,  go 
along,  old  father ;  there  is  one  less  of  you  than  went  in,  and 
if  there  was  any  thing  wrong,  the  man  in  the  house  should 
know  it !" 

As  he  concluded,  the  sentinel  continued  his  walk,  humming 
a  verse  of  Yankee-doodle,  in  excellent  favor  with  himself  and 
all  mankind,  with  the  sweeping  exception  of  his  country's 
enemies.  To  say  that  this  was  not  the  first  instance  of  well- 
meaning  integrity  being  cajoled  by  the  jargon  of  liberty, 
might  be  an  assertion  too  hazardous;  but  that  it  has  been 
the  last,  we  conscientiously  believe,  though  no  immediate  ex- 
ample may  present  itself  to  quote  in  support  of  such  heretical 
credulity. 

Ralph  appeared,  however,  perfectly  innocent  of  intending  to 
utter  more  than  the  spirit  of  the  times  justified ;  for,  when  left 
to  his  own  pleasure,  he  pursued  his  way,  muttering  rapidly  to 
himself,  and  with  an  earnestness  that  attested  his  sincerity. 
When  they  had  turned  a  corner,  at  a  little  distance  from  any 


424 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


pressing  danger,  he  relaxed  in  his  movements,  and,  suffering  his 
eager  companions  to  approach,  he  stole  to  the  side  of  Lionel, 
and,  clenching  his  hand  fiercely,  he  whispered,  in  a  voice  half 
choked  by  inward  exultation — 

"  I  have  him  now ;  he  is  no  longer  dangerous  !  Ay — ay — I 
have  him  closely  watched  by  the  vigilance  of  three  incorruptible 
patriots  !" 

"  Of  whom  speak  you  ?"  demanded  Lionel — "  what  is  his  of- 
fence, and  where  is  your  captive  ?" 

"  A  dog  !  a  man  in  form,  but  a  tiger  in  heart !  Ay !  but  I 
have  him  !"  the  old  man  continued,  with  a  hollow  laugh,  that 
seemed  to  heave  up  from  his  inmost  soul — "  a  dog  ;  a  veritable 
dog  !  I  have  him,  and  God  grant  that  he  may  drink  the  cup 
of  slavery  to  its  dregs !" 

"  Old  man,"  said  Lionel,  firmly,  "  that  I  have  followed  you 
thus  far  on  no  unworthy  errand,  you  best  may  testify — I  have 
forgotten  the  oath  which,  at  the  altar,  I  had  sworn  to,  to  cherish 
this  sweet  and  spotless  being  at  my  side,  at  your  instigation, 
aided  by  the  maddening  circumstances  of  a  moment ;  but  the 
delusion  has  already  passed  away !  Here  we  part  forever,  unless 
your  solemn  and  often-repeated  promises  are,  on  the  instant, 
redeemed." 

The  high  exultation,  which  had  so  lately  rendered  the  emaci- 
ated countenance  of  Ralph  hideously  ghastly,  disappeared  like  a 
passing  shadow ;  and  he  listened  to  the  words  of  Lionel  with 
calm  and  settled  attention.  But  when  he  would  have  answered, 
he  was  interrupted  by  Cecil,  who  uttered,  in  a  voice  nearly  sup- 
pressed by  her  fears — 

"  Oh !  delay  not  a  moment !  Let  us  proceed  anywhere,  or 
anyhow  even :  now  the  pursuers  may  be  on  our  track.  I  am 
strong,  dearest  Lionel,  and  will  follow  to  the  ends  of  the  earth, 
so  you  but  lead  I" 

"  Lionel  Lincoln,  I  have  not  deceived  thee !"  said  the  old 
man,  solemnly.    "Providence  has  already  led  us  on  our  way, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


425 


and  a  few  minutes  will  bring  us  to  our  goal — suffer,  then,  that 
gentle  trembler  to  return  into  the  village,  and  follow !" 

"  Not  an  inch !"  returned  Lionel,  pressing  Cecil  still  closer 
to  his  side — "  here  we  part,  or  your  promises  are  fulfilled  " 

"Nay,  go  with  him — go,"  again  whispered  the  being  who 
clung  to  him  in  trembling  dependence.  "  This  very  controversy 
may  prove  your  ruin — did  I  not  say  I  would  accompany  you, 
Lincoln  ?" 

"  Lead  on,  then,"  said  her  husband,  motioning  Ralph  to  pro- 
ceed— "  once  again  will  I  confide  in  you ;  but  use  the  trust  with 
discretion,  for  my  guardian  spirit  is  at  hand ;  and  remember, 
thou  no  longer  leadest  a  lunatic !" 

The  moon  fell  upon  the  wan  features  of  the  old  man,  and 
exhibited  their  contented  smile,  as  he  silently  turned  away,  and 
resumed  his  progress  with  his  wonted  rapid  and  noiseless  tread. 
Their  route  still  lay  towards  the  skirts  of  the  village.  While  the 
buildings  of  the  university  were  yet  in  the  near  view,  and  the 
loud  laugh  of  the  idlers  about  the  inn,  with  the  frequent  chal- 
lenges of  the  sentinels,  were  still  distinctly  audible,  their  con- 
ductor bent  his  way  beneath  the  walls  of  a  church,  that  rose  in 
solemn  solitude  in  the  deceptive  light  of  the  evening.  Pointing 
upward  at  its  somewhat  unusual,  because  regular  architecture, 
Ralph  muttered,  as  he  passed — 

"  Here,  at  least,  God  possesses  his  own,  without  insult !" 

Lionel  and  Cecil  slightly  glanced  their  eyes  at  the  silent 
walls,  and  followed  into  a  small  inclosure,  through  a  gap  in  its 
humble  and  dilapidated  fence.  Here  the  former  again  paused, 
and  spoke — 

"  I  will  go  no  further,"  he  said,  unconsciously  strengthening 
the  declaration  by  placing  his  foot  firmly  on  a  mound  of  frozen 
earth,  in  an  attitude  of  resistance — "  'tis  time  to  cease  think- 
ing of  self,  and  to  listen  to  the  weakness  of  her  whom  I 
support  I" 

"  Think  not  of  me,  dearest  Lincoln — ^" 


426 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Cecil  was  interrupted  by  the  voice  of  the  old  man,  who, 
raising  his  hat,  and  baring  his  gray  locks  to  the  mild  rays  of  the 
planet,  answered  with  tremulous  emotion — 

"  Thy  task  is  already  ended !  Thou  hast  reached  the  spot, 
where  moulder  the  bones  of  one  who  long  supported  thee. 
Unthinking  boy,  that  sacrilegious  foot  treads  on  thy  mother's 
grave !" 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


427 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

**0h,  age  has  weary  days, 

And  nights  o'  sleepless  pain  I 
Thou  golden  time  o'  youthful  prime, 
Why  com'st  thou  not  again  ?" 

BUENS. 

The  stillness  tliat  succeeded  this  unexpected  annunciation  was 
like  the  cold  silence  of  those  who  slumbered  on  every  side  of 
them.  Lionel  recoiled  a  pace,  in  horror;  then,  imitating  the 
action  of  the  old  man,  he  uncovered  his  head,  in  pious  reverence 
of  the  parent,  whose  form  floated  dimly  in  his  imagination,  like 
the  earliest  recollections  of  infancy,  or  the  imperfect  fancies  of 
some  dream.  When  time  was  given  for  these  sudden  emotions 
to  subside,  he  turned  to  Ralph,  and  said — 

"And  was  it  here  that  you  would  bring  me,  to  listen  to  the 
sorrows  of  my  family  ?" 

An  expression  of  piteous  anguish  crossed  the  features  of  the 
other,  as  he  answered,  in  a  voice  which  was  subdued  to 
softness- — 

"Even  here — ^here,  in  the  presence  of  thy  mother's  grave, 
shalt  thou  hear  the  tale  !" 

"  Then  let  it  be  here !"  said  Lionel,  whose  eye  was  already 
kindling  with  a  wild  and  disordered  meaning,  that  curdled  the 
blood  of  the  anxious  Cecil,  who  watched  its  expression  with  a 
woman's  solicitude.  Here,  on  this  hallowed  spot,  will  I  listen, 
and  swear  the  vengeance  that  is  due,  if  all  thy  previous  intima- 
tions should  be  just — ^" 

"No,  no,  no — ^listen  not — tarry  not !"  said  Cecil,  clinging  to 
his  side  in  undisguised  alarm  :  "  Lincoln,  you  are  not  equal  to 
the  scene  1" 

"  I  am  equal  to  any  thing  in  such  a  cause." 


423 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


^^Nay,  Lionel,  you  overrate  your  powers !  Think  only  of  your 
safety,  now ;  at  another,  and  happier  moment  you  shall  know 
all — ^yes — I — Cecil — thy  bride,  thy  wife,  promise  that  all  shall 
be  revealed — " 

"  Thou !" 

"  It  is  the  descendant  of  the  widow  of  John  Lechmere  who 
speaks,  and  thy  ears  will  not  refuse  the  sounds,"  said  Kalph, 
with  a  smile  that  acted  like  a  taunt  on  the  awakened  impulses 
of  the  young  man.  "  Go — thou  art  fitter  for  a  bridal  than  a 
churchyard  1" 

"  I  have  told  you  that  I  am  equal  to  any  thing,"  sternly  an- 
swered Lionel ;  "  here  will  I  sit,  on  this  humble  tablet,  to  hear 
all  that  you  can  utter,  though  the  rebel  legions  encircle  me  to 
my  death  !" 

"  What  I  dar'st  brave  the  averted  eye  of  one  so  dear  to  thy 
heart  V 

"  All,  or  any  thing,"  exclaimed  the  excited  youth,  "  with  so 
pious  an  object." 

"  Bravely  answered !  and  thy  reward  is  nigh — nay,  look  not 
on  the  syren,  or  thou  wilt  relent." 

"  My  wife !"  said  Lionel,  extending  his  hand,  kindly,  towards 
the  shrinking  form  of  Cecil. 

"Thy  mother!"  interrupted  Ralph,  pointing  with  his  emaciated 
hand  to  the  cold  residence  of  the  dead. 

Lionel  sunk  on  the  dilapidated  grave-stone  to  which  he  had 
just  alluded,  and,  gathering  his  coat  about  him,  he  rested  an 
arm  upon  his  knee,  while  its  hand  supported  his  quivering  chin, 
as  if  he  were  desperately  bent  on  his  gloomy  purpose.  The  old 
man  smiled  with  his  usual  ghastly  expression,  as  he  witnessed 
this  proof  of  his  success,  and  he  took  a  similar  seat  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  grave,  which  seemed  the  focus  of  their  com- 
mon interest.  Here  he  dropped  his  face  between  his  hands,  and 
appeared  to  muse,  like  one  who  was  collecting  his  thoughts  for 
the  coming  emej^gency.  During  this  short  and  impressive  pause, 
Lionel  felt  the  trembling  form  of  Cecil  drawing  to  his  side ;  and 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


429 


before  his  aged  companion  spoke,  her  unveiled  and  pallid  coun- 
tenance was  once  more  watching  the  changes  of  his  own  features, 
in  submissive,  but  anxious  attention. 

"  Thou  knowest  already,  Lionel  Lincoln,"  commenced  Ealph, 
slowly  raising  his  body  to  an  upright  attitude,  "  how,  in  past 
ages,  thy  family  sought  these  colonies,  to  find  religious  quiet, 
and  the  peace  of  the  just.  And  thou  also  knowest, — for  often 
did  we  beguile  the  long  watches  of  the  night  in  discoursing  of 
these  things,  while  the  never-tiring  ocean  was  rolling  its  waters 
unheeded  around, — ^how  Death  came  into  its  elder  branch, 
which  still  dwelt  amid  the  luxury  and  corruption  of  the  English 
court,  and  left  thy  father  the  heir  of  all  its  riches  and  honors." 

"  How  much  of  this  is  unknown  to  the  meanest  gossip  in 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  ?"  interrupted  the  impatient 
Lionel. 

"  But  they  do  not  know,  that,  for  years  before  this  accumula- 
tion of  fortune  actually  occurred,  it  was  deemed  to  be  inevitable 
by  the  decrees  of  Providence ;  they  do  not  know  how  much 
more  value  the  orphan  son  of  the  unprovided  soldier  found  in 
the  eyes  of  those  even  of  his  own  blood,  by  the  expectation ; 
nor  do  they  know  how  the  worldly-minded  Priscilla  Lechmere, 
thy  father's  aunt,  would  have  compassed  heaven  and  earth, 
to  have  seen  that  wealth,  and  those  honors,  to  which  it  was 
her  greatest  boast  to  claim  alliance,  descend  in  the  line  of  her 
own  body." 

"  But  'twas  impossible  !  She  was  of  the  female  branch  ; 
neither  had  she  a  son  !" 

"  Nothing  seems  impossible  to  those  on  whose  peace  of  mind 
the  worm  of  ambition  feeds — thou  knowest  well  she  left  a  grand- 
child ;  had  not  that  child  a  mother  ?" 

Lionel  felt  a  painful  conviction  of  the  connection,  as  the 
trembling  object  of  these  remarks  sunk  her  head  in  shame  and 
sorrow  on  his  bosom,  keenly  alive  to  the  justice  of  the  character 
drawn  of  her  deceased  relative,  by  the  mysterious  being  who 
bad  ju-st  spoken. 


430 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  God  forbid,  tliat  I,  a  Cliristian,  and  a  gentleman,"  continued 
the  old  man,  a  little  proudly,  "  should  utter  a  syllable  to  taint 
the  spotless  name  of  one  so  free  from  blemish  as  she  of  whom 
I  speak.  The  sweet  child  who  clings  to  thee,  in  dread,  Lionel, 
was  not  more  pure  and  innocent  than  she  who  bore  her.  And 
long  before  ambition  had  wove  its  toils  for  the  miserable  Pris- 
cilla,  the  heart  of  her  daughter  was  the  property  of  the  gal- 
lant and  honorable  Englishman,  to  whom  in  later  years  she  was 
wedded." 

As  Cecil  heard  this  soothing  commendation  of  her  more  im- 
mediate parents,  she  again  raised  her  face  into  the  light  of  the 
moon,  and  remained,  where  she  was  already  kneeling,  at  the  side 
of  Lionel,  no  longer  an  uneasy,  but  a  deeply  interested  listener  to 
what  followed. 

"  As  the  wishes  of  my  unhappy  aunt  were  not  realized,"  said 
Major  Lincoln,  "  in  what  manner  could  they  affect  the  fortunes 
of  my  father  ?" 

"  Thou  shalt  hear.  In  the  same  dwelling  lived  another,  even 
fairer,  and,  to  the  eye,  as  pure  as  the  daughter  of  Priscilla.  She 
was  the  relative,  the  god-child,  and  the  ward  of  that  miserable 
woman.  The  beauty,  and  seeming  virtues  of  this  apparent 
angel  in  human  form,  caught  the  young  eye  of  thy  father,  and, 
in  defiance  of  arts  and  schemes,  before  the  long-expected  title 
and  fortune  came,  they  were  wedded,  and  thou  wert  born,  Li- 
onel, to  render  the  boon  of  Fate  doubly  welcome." 

"  And  then— " 

"  And  then  thy  father  hastened  to  the  land  of  his  ancestors, 
to  claim  his  own,  and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  reception  of 
yourself,  and  his  beloved  Priscilla — for  then  there  were  two 
Priscillas  ;  and  now  both  sleep  with  the  dead  !  All  having  life 
and  nature  can  claim  the  quiet  of  the  grave,  but  I,"  continued 
the  old  man,  glancing  his  hollow  eye  upward,  with  a  look  of 
hopeless  misery.  "  I,  who  have  seen  ages  pass  since  the  blood 
of  youth  has  been  chilled,  and  generation  after  generation  swept 
away,  must  still  linger  in  the  haunts  of  men !  but  'tis  to  aid  in 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


431 


the  great  work  wliicli  commences  here,  but  which  shall  not  end 
until  a  continent  be  regenerated." 

Lionel  suffered  a  minute  to  pass  without  a  question,  in  defer- 
ence to  this  burst  of  feeling ;  but  soon,  making  an  impatient 
movement,  it  drew  the  eyes  of  Ralph  once  more  upon  him,  and 
the  old  man  continued — 

"  Month  after  month,  for  two  long  and  tedious  years  did  thy 
father  linger  in  England,  struggling  for  his  own.  At  length  he 
prevailed.  He  then  hastened  hither ;  but  there  was  no  wife — 
no  fond  and  loving  Priscilla,  hke  that  tender  flower  that  reposes 
in  thy  bosom,  to  welcome  his  return." 

"  I  know  it,"  said  Lionel,  nearly  choked  by  his  pious  recol- 
lections— "  she  was  dead." 

"  She  was  more,"  returned  Ralph,  in  a  voice  so  deep,  that  it 
sounded  like  one  speaking  from  the  grave :  "she  was  dishonored!" 

"  'Tis  false  !" 

"  'Tis  true — true  as  that  holy  Gospel  which  comes  to  men 
through  the  inspired  ministers  of  God  !" 

"  'Tis  false  1"  repeated  Lionel,  fiercely — "  blacker  than  the 
darkest  thoughts  of  the  foul  spirit  of  evil !" 

"  I  say,  rash  boy,  'tis  true  !  She  died  in  giving  birth  to  the 
fruits  of  her  infamy.  When  Priscilla  Lechmere  met  thy  heart- 
stricken  parent  with  the  damning  tale,  he  read  in  her  exulting 
eye  the  treason  of  her  mind,  and,  like  thee,  he  dared  to  call 
Heaven  to  witness  that  thy  mother  was  defamed.  But  there 
was  one  known  to  him,  under  circumstances  that  forbade  the 
thoughts  of  deceit,  who  swore — ay,  took  the  blessed  name  of 
Him  who  reads  all  hearts,  for  warranty  of  her  truth ! — and  she 
confirmed  it." 

"The  infamous  seducer!"  said  Lionel,  hoarsely,  his  body 
turning  unconsciously  away  from  Cecil — "  does  he  yet  live  ? 
Give  him  to  my  vengeance,  old  man,  and  I  will  yet  bless  you 
for  your  accursed  history  !" 

"  Lionel,  Lionel,"  said  the  soothing  voice  of  his  bride,  "  do 
you  credit  him  ?" 


432 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Credit  him  !"  said  Ralph,  with  a  horrid*,  inward  laugh,  as 
if  he  would  deride  the  idea  of  incredulity :  "  all  this  must  he 
believe,  and  more !  Once  again,  weak  girl,  did  thy  grand- 
mother throw  out  her  lures  for  the  wealthy  baronet,  and  when 
he  would  not  become  her  son,  then  did  she  league  with  the 
spirits  of  hell  to  compass  his  ruin.  Revenge  took  j^lace  of  am- 
bition, and  thy  husband's  father  was  the  victim 

"  Say  on  T'  cried  Lionel,  nearly  ceasing  to  breathe  in  the  in- 
tensity of  his  interest. 

"  The  blow  had  cut  him  to  the  heart ;  and,  for  a  time,  his 
reason  was  crushed  beneath  its  weight.  Yet  'twas  but  for  an 
hour,  compared  to  the  eternity  a  man  is  doomed  to  live  ! 
They  profited  by  the  temporary  derangement,  and  when  his 
wandering  faculties  were  lulled  to  quiet,  he  found  himself  the 
tenant  of  a  madhouse,  where,  for  twenty  long  years,  was  he 
herded  with  the  defaced  images  of  his  Maker,  by  the  arts  of  the 
base  widow  of  John  Lechmere." 

"  Can  this  be  true  ?  Can  this  be  true  ?"  cried  Lionel,  clasp- 
ing his  hands  wildly,  and  springing  to  his  feet,  with  a  violence 
that  cast  the  tender  form  that  still  clung  to  him,  aside,  like  a 
worthless  toy.  "  Can  this  be  proved  ?  How  knowest  thou 
these  facts  ?" 

The  calm,  but  melancholy  smile  that  was  wont  to  light  the 
wan  features  of  the  old  man,  when  he  alluded  to  his  own  ex- 
istence, was  once  more  visible,  as  he  answered — 

"There  is  but  little  hid  from  the  knowledge  acquired  by 
length  of  days.  Besides,  have  I  not  secret  means  of  intelli- 
gence that  are  unknown  to  thee  ?  Remember  what,  in  our  fre- 
,  quent  interviews,  I  have  revealed  ;  recall  the  death-bed  scene  of 
Priscilla  Lechmere,  and  ask  thyself  if  there  be  not  truth  in  thy 
aged  friend." 

"  Give  me  all !  hold  not  back  a  tittle  of  thy  accursed  tale — 
give  me  all — or  take  back  each  syllable  thou  hast  uttered  !" 

"  Thou  shalt  have  all  thou  askest,  Lionel  Lincoln,  and  more," 
returned  Ralph,  throwing  into  his  manner  and  voice  its  utmost 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


433 


powers  of  solemnity  and  persuasion — "  provided  thou  wilt  swear 
eternal  hatred  to  that  country  and  those  laws,  by  which  an  in- 
nocent and  unoffending  man  can  be  levelled  with  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  and  be  made  to  rave  even  at  his  Maker,  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  sufferings." 

"  More  than  that — ten  thousand  times  more  than  that,  will  I 
swear  :  I  will  league  with  this  rebellion — " 

"  Lionel,  Lionel,  what  is't  you  do  ?"  interrupted  the  heart- 
stricken  Cecil. 

But  her  voice  w^as  stilled  by  loud  and  busy  cries,  which 
broke  out  of  the  village,  above  the  hum  of  revelry,  and  was  in- 
stantly succeeded  by  the  trampling  of  footsteps,  as  men  rushed 
over  the  frozen  ground,  apparently  by  hundreds,  and  with  head- 
long rapidity.  Kalph,  who  was  not  less  quick  to  hear  these 
sounds  than  the  timid  bride,  glided  from  the  grave,  and  approach- 
ed the  highway,  whither  he  was  slowly  followed  by  his  com- 
panions ;  Lionel  utterly  indifferent  whither  he  proceeded,  and 
Cecil  trembling  in  every  limb  with  terror  for  the  safety  of  him 
who  so  little  regarded  his  own  danger. 

"  They  are  abroad,  and  think  to  find  an  enemy,"  said  the  old 
man,  raising  his  hand  with  a  gesture  to  command  attention ; 
"  but  he  has  sworn  to  join  their  standards,  and  gladly  will  they 
receive  any  of  his  name  and  family  !" 

"No,  no — he  .has  pledged  himself  to  no  dishonor,"  cried 
Cecil.  "  Fly,  Lincoln,  while  you  are  free,  and  leave  me  to  meet 
the  pursuers — they  will  respect  my  weakness." 

Fortunately,  the  allusion  to  herself  awakened  Lionel  from 
the  dull  forgetfulness  into  which  his  faculties  had  fallen.  En- 
circling her  slight  figure  with  his  arm,  he  turned  swiftly  fronj 
the  spot,  saying,  as  he  urged  her  forward — 

"  Old  man,  when  this  precious  charge  is  in  safety,  thy  truth 
or  falsehood  shall  be  proved." 

But  Kalph,  whose  unincumbered  person  and  iron  frame, 
which  seemed  to  mock  the  ravages  of  time,  gave  a  vast  supe- 
riority over  the  impeded  progress  of  the  other,  moved  swiftly 

19 


434 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


ahead,  waving  his  hand  on  high,  as  if  to  indicate  his  intention 
to  join  in  the  flight,  while  he  led  the  way  into  the  fields  adja- 
cent to  the  churchyard  they  had  quitted. 

The  noise  of  the  pursuers  soon  became  more  distinct,  and,  in 
the  intervals  of  the  distant  cannonade,  the  cries  and  directions 
of  those  who  conducted  the  chase  were  distinctly  audible.  Not- 
withstanding the  vigorous  arm  of  her  supporter,  Cecil  was  soon 
sensible  that  her  delicate  frame  was  unequal  to  continue  the  ex- 
ertions necessary  to  insure  their  safety.  They  had  entered  an- 
other road,  which  lay  at  no  great  distance  from  the  first,  when 
she  paused,  and  reluctantly  declared  her  inabiHty  to  proceed. 

"  Then,  here  will  we  await  our  captors,"  said  Lionel,  with 
forced  composure  :  "  let  the  rebels  beware  how  they  abuse  their 
slight  advantage  1" 

The  words  were  scarcely  uttered,  when  a  cart,  drawn  by  a 
double  team,  turned  an  angle  in  the  highway  near  them,  and 
its  driver  appeared  within  a  few  feet  of  the  spot  where  they 
stood.  He  was  a  man  far  advanced  in  years,  but  still  wielded 
his  long  goad  with  a  dexterity  which  had  been  imparted  by  the 
practice  of  more  than  half  a  century.  The  sight  of  this  man, 
alone,  and  removed  from  immediate  aid,  suggested  a  desperate 
thought  for  self-preservation  to  Lionel.  Quitting  the  side  of  his 
exhausted  companion,  he  advanced  upon  him  with  an  air  so 
fierce,  that  it  might  have  created  alarm  in  one  who  had  the 
smallest  reason  to  apprehend  any  danger. 

"  Whither  go  you  with  that  cart  sternly  demanded  the 
young  man  on  the  instant. 

"  To  the  Point,"  was  the  ready  answer.  "  Yes,  yes — old  and 
young — big  and  Httle — men  and  cre'turs — four- wheels  and  two- 
wheels — every  thing  goes  to  the  Point  to-night,  as  you  can  guess, 
fri'nd  !  Why,"  he  continued,  dropping  one  end  of  his  goad  on 
the  ground,  and  supporting  himself  by  grasping  it  with  both  his 
hands — "  I  was  eighty-three  the  fourteenth  of  the  last  March, 
and  I  hope,  God  willing,  that  when  the  next  birthday  comes, 
there  won't  be  a  red  coat  left  in  the  town  of  Boston.    To  my 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


435 


aotion,  fri'nd,  they  have  held  the  place  long  enough,  and  it's 
time  to  quit.  My  boys  are  in  the  camp,  soldiering  a  turn — the 
old  woman  has  been  as  busy  as  a  bee,  sin'  sun-down,  helping  me 
to  load  up  what  you  see,  and  I  am  carrying  it  over  to  Dorches- 
ter, and  not  a  farthinir  shall  it  ever  cost  the  consfress 

"  And  you  are  going  to  Dorchester-neck  with  your  bundles  of 
hay  f '  said  Lionel,  eyeing  both  him  and  his  passing  team,  in 
hesitation  whether  to  attempt  violence  on  one  so  infirm  and 
helpless. 

"  Anan  !  you  must  speak  up,  soldier-fashion,  as  you  did  at 
first,  for  I  am  a  little  deaf,"  returned  the  carter.  "  Yes,  yes, 
they  spared  me  in  the  press,  for  they  said  I  had  done  enough ; 
but  I  say  a  man  has  never  done  enough  for  his  own  country, 
when  any  thing  is  left  to  be  done.  I'm  told  they  are  carrying 
over  fashines,  as  they  call  'em,  and  pressed-hay,  for  their  forts. 
As  hay  is  more  in  my  fashion  than  any  other  fashion,  I've  bun- 
dled up  a  stout  pile  on't  here  ;  and  if  that  wont  do,  why,  let 
Washington  come  ;  he  is  welcome  to  the  barn,  stacks  and  all !" 

"  While  you  are  so  hberal  to  the  congress,  can  you  help  a 
female  in  distress,  who  would  wish  to  go  in  the  direction  of  your 
route,  but  is  too  feeble  to  walk  ?" 

"  With  all  my  heart,"  said  the  other,  turning  round  in  quest 
of  her  whom  he  was  desired  to  assist — I  hope  she  is  handy ; 
for  the  night  wears  on,  and  I  shouldn't  like  to  have  the  English 
send  a  bullet  at  our  people  on  Dorchester  hills,  before  my  hay 
gets  there,  to  help  stop  it." 

"  She  shall  not  detain  you  an  instant,"  said  Lionel,  springing 
to  the  place  where  Cecil  stood,  partly  concealed  by  the  fence, 
and  supporting  her  to  the  side  of  the  rude  vehicle — "  you  shall 
be  amply  rewarded  for  this  service." 

"  Reward  !  Perhaps  she  is  the  wife  or  daughter  of  a  soldier, 
in  w^hich  case  she  should  be  drawn  in  her  coach  and  four,  in 
Btead  of  a  cart  and  double  team." 

"  Yes,  yes — you  are  right,  she  is  both — the  wife  of  one,  and 
the  daughter  of  another  soldier." 


436 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Ay  !  God  bless  her !  I  warrant  me  old  Put  was  more  than 
half  right,  when  he  said  the  women  would  stop  the  two  ridge- 
ments,  that  the  proud  parliamenter  boasted  could  march  through 
the  colonies,  from  Hampshire  to  Georgi'.  Well,  fri'nds,  are  ye 
situated  ?" 

"  Perfectly,"  said  Lionel,  who  had  been  preparing  seats  for 
himself  and  Cecil,  among  the  bundles  of  hay,  and  assisting  his 
companion  into  her  place  during  the  dialogue — "  we  will  detain 
you  no  longer." 

The  carter,  who  was  no  less  than  the  owner  of  a  hundred  acres 
of  good  land  in  the  vicinity,  signified  his  readiness ;  and  sweep- 
ing through  the  air  with  his  goad,  he  brought  his  cattle  to  the 
proper  direction,  and  slowly  moved  on.  During  this  hurried 
scene,  Ralph  had  continued  hid  by  the  shadows  of  the  fence* 
When  the  cart  proceeded,  he  waved  his  hand,  and  gliding 
across  the  road,  was  soon  lost  to  the  eye  in  the  misty  distance, 
with  which  his  gray  apparel  blended,  like  a  spectre  vanishing 
in  air. 

In  the  mean  time  the  pursuers  had  not  been  idle.  Voices 
were  heard  in  different  directions,  and  dim  forms  were  to  be 
seen  rushing  through  the  fields,  by  the  aid  of  the  deceptive  hght 
of  the  moon.  To  add  to  the  embarrassment  of  their  situation  ^ 
Lionel  found,  when  too  late,  that  the  route  to  Dorchester  lay 
directly  through  the  village  of  Cambridge.  When  he  perceived 
they  were  approaching  the  streets,  he  would  have  left  the  cart, 
had  not  the  experiment  been  too  dangerous,  in  the  midst  of  the 
disturbed  soldiery,  who  now  flew  by  on  every  side  of  them.  In 
such  a  strait,  his  safest  course  was  to  continue  motionless  and 
silent,  secreting  his  own  form,  and  that  of  Cecil,  as  much  as 
possible,  among  the  bundles  of  hay.  Contrary  to  all  the  just 
expectations,  which  the  impatient  patriotism  of  the  old  yeoman 
had  excited,  instead  of  driving  steadily  through  the  place,  he 
turned  his  cattle  a  little  from  the  direct  route,  and  stopped  in 
front  of  the  very  inn,  where  Cecil  had  so  lately  been  conducted 
by  her  guide  from  the  Point. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


43? 


Here  the  same  noisy  and  thoughtless  revelry  existed  as  before. 
The  arrival  af  such  an  equipage  at  once  drew  a  crowd  to  the 
spot,  and  the  uneasy  pair  on  the  top  of  the  load  became  unwill- 
ing listeners  to  the  conversation. 

"  What,  old  one,  hard  at  it  for  congress  1"  cried  a  man,  ap- 
proaching with  a  mug  in  his  hand ;  "  come,  wet  your  throat, 
my  venerable  Father  of  Liberty,  for  you  are  too  old  to  be 
a  son !" 

"  Yes,  yes,"  answered  the  exulting  farmer,  "  I  am  father  and 
son,  too !  I  have  four  boys  in  camp,  and  seven  grand'uns  in  the 
bargain ;  and  that  would  be  eleven  good  triggers  in  one  family, 
if  five  good  muskets  had  so  many  locks — but  the  youngest  men 
have  got  a  ducking-gun,  and  a  double-barrel  atv/een  them,  how- 
somever ;  and  Aaron  the  boy  carries  as  good  a  horse-pistol,  I  cal- 
culate, as  any  there  is  going  in  the  Bay  1  But  what  an  uneasy 
time  you  have  on't  to-night !  There's  more  powder  wasted  in 
mocking  thunder,  than  would  fight  old  Bunker  over  again,  at 
*  white  o'  the  eye'  distance !" 

"  'Tis  the  way  of  war,  old  man ;  and  we  want  to  keep  the 
reg'lars  from  looking  at  Dorchester." 

"  If  they  did,  they  couldn't  see  far  to-night.  But,  now,  do 
tell  me ;  I  am  an  old  man,  and  have  a  grain  of  cur'osity  in  the 
flesh ;  my  woman  says  that  Howe  casts  out  his  carcasses  at  you ; 
which  I  hold  to  be  an  irreligious  deception." 

"  As  true  as  the  Gospel." 

"  "Well,  there  is  no  calculating  on  the  wastefulness  of  an  un 
godly  spirit  1"  said  the  worthy  yeoman,  shaking  his  head — "  1 
could  believe  any  wickedness  of  him  but  that!    As  cre'turs 
must  be  getting  scarce  in  the  town,  I  conclude  he  makes  use  of 
his  own  slain  ?" 

"  Certain,"  answered  the  soldier,  winking  at  his  companions  : 
Breed's  hill  has  kept  him  in  ammunition  all  winter." 

"  'Tis  awful,  awful !  to  see  a  fellow-cre'tur  flying  though  the 
air,  after  the  spirit  has  departed  to  judgment !  War  is  a  dread- 
ful calling ;  but,  then,  what  is  a  man  without  liberty !" 


438 


lONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Hark  ye,  old  gentleman,  talking  of  flying,  have  you  seen 
any  thing  of  two  men  and  a  woman,  flying  up  the  road  as  you 
came  in  ?" 

"  Anan !"  I'm  a  little  hard  o'  hearing—  women,  too !  do 
they  shoot  their  Jezebels  into  our  camp  ?  There  is  no  wicked- 
ness the  king's  ministers  w^on't  attempt  to  circumvent  our  w^eak 
naturs  1" 

"  Did  you  see  two  men  and  a  v/oman,  running  away  as  you 
came  down  the  road  ?"  bawled  the  fellow  in  his  ear. 

"  Two !  did  you  say  two  asked  the  yeoman,  turning  his 
head  a  little  on  one  side,  in  an  attitude  of  sagacious  musing. 

"  Yes,  two  men." 

"  1^0,  I  didn't  see  two.    Eunning  out  of  town,  did  you  say 

"  Ay,  running,  as  if  the  devil  was  after  them." 

"No;  I  didn't  see  two,  nor  anybody  running  away — it's  a 
sartain  sign  of  guilt  to  run  away — is  there  any  reward  offered?" 
said  the  old  man,  suddenly  interrupting  himself,  and  again 
communing  with  his  own  thoughts. 

"  Not  yet — they've  just  escaped." 

"  The  surest  way  to  catch  a  thief  is  to  offer  a  smart  reward : 
no — I  didn't  see  two  men ;  you  are  sartain  there  was  two  ?" 

"  Push  on  with  that  cart !  drive  on,  drive  on,"  cried  a  mounted 
officer  of  the  quartermaster's  department,  who  came  scouring 
through  the  street  at  that  moment,  awakening  all  the  slumber- 
iDg  ideas  of  haste,  which  the  old  farmer  had  suffered  to  lie 
dormant  so  long.  Once  more  flourishing  his  goad,  he  put  his 
team  in  motion,  wishing  the  revellers  good-night  as  he  pro- 
ceeded. It  was,  however,  long  after  he  had  left  the  village,  and 
cross^^d  the  Charles,  before  he  ceased  to  make  frequent,  and 
sudden  halts  in  the  highway,  as  if  doubtful  whether  to  continue 
his  route,  or  to  return.  At  length  he  stopped  the  cart,  and, 
clambering  up  on  the  hay,  he  took  a  seat,  where  with  one  eye 
he  could  regulate  his  cattle,  and  with  the  other  examine  his 
companions.  This  investigation  continued  another  hour,  neither 
party  uttering  a  syllable,  when  the  teamster  appeared  satisfied 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


439 


Lhat  his  suspicions  were  unjust,  and  abandoned  them.  Perhaps 
the  difficulties  of  the  road  assisted  in  dissipating  his  doubts ;  for, 
as  they  proceeded,  return  carts  were  met,  at  every  few  rods, 
rendering  his  undivided  attention  to  his  own  team  indispensable. 

Lionel,  whose  gloomy  thoughts  had  been  chased  from  his 
mind  by  the  constant  excitement  of  the  foregoing  scenes,  now 
felt  relieved  from  any  immediate  apprehensions.  He  whispered 
his  soothing  hopes  of  a  final  escape  to  Cecil,  and,  folding  her  in 
his  coat,  to  shield  her  from  the  night-air,  he  was  pleased  to  find, 
ere  long,  by  her  gentle  breathing,  that,  overcome  by  fatigue, 
she  was  slumbering  in  forgetfulness  on  his  bosom. 

Midnight  had  long  passed  when  they  came  in  sight  of  the 
eminences  beyond  Dorchester-neck.  Cecil  had  awoke,  and 
Lionel  was  already  devising  some  plausible  excuse  for  quitting 
the  cart,  without  reviving  the  suspicions  of  the  teamster.  At 
length  a  favorable  spot  occurred,  where  they  were  alone,  and 
the  formation  of  the  ground  was  adapted  to  such  a  purpose. 
Lionel  was  on  the  point  of  speaking,  when  the  cattle  stopped, 
and  Ralph  suddenly  appeared  in  the  highway,  at  their  heads. 

"  Make  room,  fri'nd,  for  the  oxen,"  said  the  farmer — "  dumb 
beasts  won't  pass  in  the  face  of  man." 

"Alight,"  said  Ralph,  seconding  his  words  with  a  wide 
sweep  of  his  arm  towards  the  fields. 

Lionel  quickly  obeyed,  and,  by  the  time  the  driver  had  de- 
scended also,  the  whole  party  stood  together  in  the  road. 

"You  have  conferred  a  greater  obligation  than  you  are  aware 
of,"  said  Lionel  to  the  driver.    "  Here  are  five  guineas." 

"  For  what  ?  for  riding  on  a  load  of  hay  a  few  miles  ? — no, 
no ;  kindness  is  no  such  boughten  article  in  the  Bay,  that  a  man 
need  pay  for  it.  But,  fri'nd,  money  seems  plenty  with  you,  for 
these  difficult  days !" 

"  Then  thanks,  a  thousand  times — I  can  stay  to  offer  you  no 
more." 

He  was  yet  speaking,  when,  obedient  to  an  impatient 
gesture  from  Ralph,  he  lifted  Cecil  over  the  fence,  and  in  a 


440 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


moment  they  disappeared  from  the  eyes  of  the  astonished 
farmer. 

Halloo,  fri'nd !"  cried  the  worthy  advocate  for  his  country, 
running  after  them  as  fast  as  old  age  would  allow — "  were  there 
three  of  you,  when  I  took  ye  up  ?" 

The  fugitives  heard  the  call  of  the  simple  and  garrulous  old 
man,  but,  as  will  easily  be  imagined,  did  not  deem  it  prudent  to 
stop  and  discuss  the  point  in  question  between  them.  Before 
they  had  gone  far,  the  furious  ciy  of  "  Take  care  of  that  team !" 
with  the  rattling  of  wheels,  announced  that  their  pursuer  was 
recalled  to  his  duty,  by  an  arrival  of  empty  wagons ;  and,  before 
the  distance  rendered  sounds  unintelKgible,  they  heard  the  noisy 
explanation,  which  their  late  companion  was  giving  to  the  others, 
of  the  whole  transaction.  They  were  not,  however,  pursued ; 
the  teamsters  having  more  pressing  objects  in  view  than  the 
detection  of  thieves,  or  even  of  pocketing  a  reward. 

Ealph  led  his  companions,  after  a  brief  explanation,  by  a  long 
and  circuitous  path,  to  the  shores  of  the  bay.  Here  they  found, 
hid  in  the  rushes  of  a  shallow  inlet,  a  small  boat,  that  Lionel 
recognized  as  the  little  vessel  in  wliich  Job  Pray  was  wont  to 
pursue  his  usual  avocation  of  a  fisherman.  Entering  it  without 
delay,  he  seized  the  oars,  and,  aided  by  a  flowing  tide,  he  indus- 
triously urged  it  towards  the  distant  spires  of  Boston. 

The  parting  shades  of  the  night  were  yet  struggling  with  the 
advance  of  day,  when  a  powerful  flash  of  light  illuminated  the 
hazy  horizon,  and  the  roar  of  cannon,  which  had  ceased  towards 
morning,  was  again  heard.  But  this  time  the  sounds  came  from 
the  water,  and  a  cloud  rose  above  the  smoking  harbor,  announ- 
cing that  the  ships  were  again  enlisted  in  the  contest.  This 
sudden  cannonade  induced  Lionel  to  steer  his  boat  between  the 
islands ;  for  the  castle,  and  southern  batteries  of  the  town,  were 
all  soon  united  in  pouring  out  their  vengeance  on  the  laborers, 
who  still  occupied  the  heights  of  Dorchester.  As  the  little 
vessel  glided  by  a  tall  frigate,  Cecil  saw  the  boy,  who  had  been 
ler  first  escort  in  the  wanderings  of  the  preceding  night,  stand* 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


441 


ing  on  its  taffraiJ,  rubbing  bis  eyes  witb  wonder,  and  staring  at 
tbose  bills,  wbose  possession  be  bad  propbesied  would  lead  to 
Bucb  bloody  results.  In  sbort,  wbile  be  labored  at  tbe  oars, 
Lionel  witnessed  tbe  opening  scene  of  Breed's  acted  anew,  as 
battery  after  battery,  and  sbip  after  sbip,  brougbt  tbeir  guns  to 
bear  on  tbe  bardy  countrymen,  wbo  bad  once  more  bastened  a 
crisis  by  tbeir  daring  enterprise.  Tbeir  boat  passed  unbeeded, 
in  tbe  excitement  and  bustle  of  tbe  moment,  and  tbe  mists  of 
tbe  morning  bad  not  yet  dissipated,  wben  it  sbot  by  tbe  wbarves 
of  Boston,  and,  turning  into  tbe  narrow  entrance  of  tbe  Town- 
dock,  it  toucbed  tbe  land,  near  tbe  warebouse,  wbere  it  bad  so 
often  been  moored,  in  more  peaceable  times,  by  its  simple 
master. 


442 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

"  Now  cracks  a  noble  heart ; — good-night, 
Sweet  prince." 

Shakspeabs. 

Lionel  assisted  Cecil  to  ascend  the  difficult  water-stairs,  and, 
still  attended  by  their  aged  companion,  they  soon  stood  on  the 
drawbridge  that  connected  the  piers  which  formed  the  mouth 
of  the  narrow  basin. 

"  Here  we  again  part,"  he  said,  addressing  himself  to  Ralph ; 
"  at  another  opportunity  let  us  resume  your  melancholy  tale." 

"  None  so  fitting  as  the  present :  the  time,  the  place,  and  the 
state  of  the  town,  are  all  favorable." 

Lionel  cast  his  eyes  around  on  the  dull  misery  which  per- 
vaded the  neglected  area.  A  few  half-dressed  soldiers  and 
alarmed  townsmen  were  seen,  by  the  gray  light  of  the  morning, 
rushing  across  the  square  towards  the  point  whence  the  sounds 
of  cannon  proceeded.  In  the  hurry  of  the  moment,  their  own 
arrival  was  not  noted. 

"  The  place — the  time !"  he  slowly  repeated. 

"  Ay,  both.  At  what  moment  can  the  friend  of  liberty  pass 
more  unheeded  amongst  these  miscreant  hirelings  than  now, 
when  fear  has  broken  their  slumbers !  Yon  is  the  place,"  he 
said,  pointing  to  the  warehouse,  "  where  all  that  I  have  uttered 
will  find  its  confirmation." 

Major  Lincoln  communed  momentarily  with  his  thoughts. 
It  is  probable  that,  in  the  rapid  glances  of  his  mind,  he 
traced  the  mysterious  connection  between  the  abject  tenant  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


448 


the  adjacent  building  and  the  deceased  grandmother  of  his 
bride,  whose  active  agency  in  producing  the  calamities  of  his 
family  had  now  been  openly  acknowledged.  It  was  soon  ap- 
parent, that  he  wavered  in  his  purpose ;  nor  was  he  slow  to 
declare  it. 

"  I  will  attend  you,"  he  said ;  "  for  who  can  say  what  the 
hardihood  of  the  rebels  may  next  attempt ;  and  future  occa- 
sions may  be  wanting.  I  will  first  see  this  gentle  charge  of 
mine — " 

"  Lincoln,  I  cannot — must  not  leave  you,"  interrupted  Cecil, 
with  earnest  fervor :  "  go,  listen,  and  learn  all ;  surely  there  can 
be  nothing  that  a  wife  may  not  know  1" 

Without  waiting  for  further  objection,  Ralph  made  a  hurried 
gesture  of  compliance,  and,  turning,  he  led  the  way,  with  his 
usual  swift  footsteps,  into  the  low  and  dark  tenement  of  Abigail 
Pray.  The  commotion  of  the  town  had  not  yet  reached  this 
despised  and  neglected  building,  which  was  even  more  than 
ordinarily  gloomy  and  still.  As  they  picked  their  way,  how- 
ever, among  the  scattered  hemp,  across  the  scene  of  the  preced- 
ing night's  riot,  a  few  stifled  groans  proceeded  from  one  of  the 
towers,  and  directed  them  w^here  to  seek  its  abused  and  suffering 
inmates.  On  opening  the  door  of  this  little  apartment,  not  only 
Lionel  and  Cecil  paused,  but  even  the  immovable  old  man  ap- 
peared to  hesitate,  in  wonder. 

The  heart-stricken  mother  of  the  simpleton  was  seated  on  her 
humble  stool,  busied  in  repairing  some  mean  and  worthless  gar- 
ments which  had,  seemingly,  been  exposed  to  the  wasteful  care- 
lessness of  her  reckless  child.  But  while  her  fingers  performed 
their  functions  with  mechanical  skill,  her  contracted  brow,  work- 
ing muscles,  and  hard,  dry  eyes,  betrayed  the  force  of  the  men- 
tal sruffering  that  she  struggled  to  conceal.  Job  still  lay  stretch- 
ed on  his  abject  pallet,  though  his  breathing  was  louder  and 
more  labored  than  when  we  last  left  him,  while  his  sunken  fea- 
tures indicated  the  slow,  but  encroaching  advances  of  the  disease. 
Polwarth  was  seated  at  his  side,  holding  a  pulse,  with  an  air  ol 


444 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


medical  deliberation ;  and  attempting,  every  few  moments,  to 
confirm  his  hopes  or  fears,  as  each  preponderated  in  turn,  by 
examining  the  glazed  eyes  of  the  subject  of  his  care. 

Upon  a  party  thus  occupied,  and  with  feelings  so  much  en- 
grossed, even  the  sudden  entrance  of  the  intruders  was  not  likely 
to  make  any  very  sensible  impression.  The  languid  and  un- 
meaning look  of  Job  wandered  momentarily  towards  the  door, 
and  then  became  again  fixed  on  vacancy.  A  gleam  of  joy  shot 
into  the  honest  visage  of  the  captain,  when  he  first  beheld 
Lionel,  accompanied  by  Cecil,  but  it  was  instantly  chased  away 
by  the  settled  meaning  of  care,  which  had  gotten  the  mastery 
of  his  usually  contented  expression.  The  greatest  alteration 
was  produced  in  the  aspect  of  the  woman,  who  bowed  her  head 
to  her  bosom,  with  a  universal  shudder  of  her  frame,  as  Ealph 
stood  unexpectedly  before  her.  But  from  her,  also,  the  sudden 
emotion  passed  speedily  away,  her  hands  resuming  their  humble 
occupation,  with  the  same  mechanical  and  involuntary  move- 
ments, as  before. 

"  Explain  this  scene  of  silent  sorrow  !"  said  Lionel  to  his  friend 
— "  how  came  you  in  this  haxmt  of  wretchedness  ?  and  who  has 
harmed  the  lad  ?" 

"  Your  question  conveys  its  own  answer.  Major  Lincoln,"  re- 
turned Polwarth,  with  a  manner  so  deliberate,  that  he  refused 
to  raise  his  steady  look  from  the  face  of  the  sufferer — "  I  am 
here,  because  they  are  wretched  !" 

"  The  motive  is  commendable  ;  but  what  aileth  the  youth  ?" 

"  The  functions  of  nature  seem  suspended  by  some  remark- 
able calamity.  I  found  him  suffering  from  inanition,  and  not 
withstanding  I  applied  as  hearty  and  nutritious  a  meal  as  the 
strongest  man  in  the  garrison  could  require,  the  symptoms,  as 
you  see,  are  strangely  threatening !" 

"  He  has  taken  the  contagion  of  the  town,  and  you  have  fed 
him,  when  his  fever  was  at  the  highest  T' 

"  Is  small-pox  to  be  considered  more  than  a  symptom,  when 
a  man  has  the  damnable  disease  of  starvation !    Go  to — go  to, 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


445 


Leo ;  you  read  the  Latin  poets  so  mucli  at  the  schools,  that  no 
leisure  is  left  to  bestow  on  the  philosophy  of  nature.  There  is 
an  inward  monitor,  that  teaches  every  child  the  remedy  for 
hunger." 

Lionel  felt  no  disposition  to  contend  with  his  friend  on  a 
point  where  the  other's  opinions  were  so  dogmatical,  but,  turn- 
ing to  the  woman,  he  said — 

"  The  experience  of  a  professional  nurse  should  have  taught 
you,  at  least,  more  care." 

"  Can  experience  steel  a  mother  to  the  yearnings  of  her  off- 
spring for  food  ?"  returned  the  forlorn  Abigail.  "  No,  no — the 
ear  cannot  be  deaf  to  such  a  moaning,  and  wisdom  is  as  folly 
when  the  heart  bleeds." 

"  Lincoln,  you  chide  unkindly,"  said  Cecil — let  us  rather  at 
tempt  to  avert  the  danger,  than  quarrel  with  its  cause." 

"  It  is  too  late — it  is  too  late,"  returned  the  disconsolate 
mother;  "his  hours  are  already  numbered,  and  death  is  on 
him.  I  can  now  only  pray,  that  God  will  lighten  his  curse,  and 
suffer  the  parting  spirit  to  know  his  Almighty  power." 

"  Throw  aside  these  worthless  rags,"  said  Cecil,  gently  at- 
tempting to  take  the  clothes,  "  nor  fatigue  yourself  longer,  at 
such  a  sacred  moment,  with  unnecessary  labor." 

"  Young  lady,  you  little  know  a  mother's  longings ;  may  you 
never  know  her  sorrows !  I  have  been  doing  for  the  child  these 
seven-and-twenty  years ;  rob  me  not  of  the  pleasure,  now  that 
so  little  remains  to  be  done." 

"  Is  he,  then,  so  old !"  exclaimed  Lionel,  in  surprise. 

"  Old  as  he  is,  'tis  young  for  a  child  to  die !  He  wants  the 
look  of  reason :  Heaven,  in  its  mercy,  grant  that  he  may  bo 
found  to  have  a  face  of  innocence  !" 

Hitherto  Ralph  had  remained  where  he  first  stood,  as  if  riv- 
eted to  the  floor,  with  his  eyes  fastened  on  the  countenance  of 
the  sufferer.  He  now  turned  to  Lionel,  and,  in  a  voice  ren- 
dered even  plaintive  by  his  deep  emotion,  he  asked  the  simple 
question — 


446 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


"  Will  lie  die  r 

"  I  fear  it — tliat  look  is  not  easily  to  be  mistaken." 

With  a  step  so  light  that  it  was  inaudible,  the  old  man  moved 
to  the  bed,  and  seated  himself  on  the  side,  opposite  to  Polwarth. 
Without  regarding  the  wondering  look  of  the  captain,  he 
waved  his  hand  on  high,  as  if  to  exhort  to  silence,  and  then 
gazing  on  the  features  of  the  sick,  with  melancholy  interest,  he 
said — 

"  Here,  then,  is  death  again  !  N'one  are  so  young  as  to  be 
unheeded;  'tis  only  the  old  that  cannot  die.  Tell  me,  Job, 
what  seest  thou  in  the  visions  of  thy  mind — the  unknown  places 
of  the  damned,  or  the  brightness  of  such  as  stand  in  presence 
of  their  God 

At  the  well-known  sound  of  his  voice,  the  glazed  eye  of  the 
simpleton  lighted  with  a  ray  of  reason,  and  was  turned  towards 
the  speaker,  once  more,  teeming  with  a  look  of  meek  assurance. 
The  rattling  in  his  throat,  for  a  moment,  increased,  and  then 
ceased  entirely ;  when  a  voice  so  deep^  that  it  appeared  to  issue 
from  the  depths  of  his  chest,  was  heard,  saying — 

"  The  Lord  won't  harm  him  who  never  harmed  the  creatures 
of  the  Lord !" 

"  Emperors  and  kings,  yea,  the  great  of  the  earth,  might  envy 
thee  thy  lot,  thou  unknown  child  of  wretchedness !"  returned 
Ralph.  "  Not  yet  thirty  years  of  probation,  and  already  thou 
throwest  aside  the  clay !  Like  thee  did  I  grow  to  manhood, 
and  learn  how  hard  it  is  to  live ;  but  like  thee  I  cannot  die ! 
Tell  me,  boy,  dost  thou  enjoy  the  freedom  of  the  spirit,  or  hast 
thou  still  pain  and  pleasure  in  the  flesh  ?  Dost  see  beyond  the 
tomb,  and  trace  thy  route  through  the  pathless  air,  or  is  all  yet 
hid  in  the  darkness  of  the  grave 

"  Job  is  going  where  the  Lord  has  hid  his  reason,"  answered 
the  same  hollow  voice  as  before :  "  his  prayers  won't  be  foolish 
Any  longer." 

"  Pray,  then,  for  one  aged  and  forlorn  ;  who  has  borne  the 
burden  of  life  till  Death  has  forgotten  him,  and  who  wearies  of 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


the  things  of  earth,  where  all  is  treachery  and  sin.  But  stay ; 
depart  not  till  thy  spirit  can  bear  the  signs  of  repentance  from 
yon  sinful  woman  into  the  regions  of  day." 

Abigail  groaned  aloud ;  her  hands  again  refused  their  occupa- 
tion, and  her  head  once  more  sunk  on  her  bosom  in  abject  misery. 
From  this  posture  of  self-abasement  and  grief,  the  woman  raised 
herself  to  her  feet,  and,  putting  aside  the  careless  tresses  of  dark 
hair,  which,  though  here  and  there  streaked  with  gray,  retained 
much  of  their  youthful  gloss,  she  looked  about  her  with  a  face 
so  haggard,  and  eyes  so  full  of  meaning,  that  the  common  at- 
tention was  instantly  attracted  to  her  movements. 

"  The  time  has  come,  and  neither  fear  nor  shame  shall  longer 
tie  my  tongue,"  she  said.  "  The  hand  of  Providence  is  too 
manifest  in  this  assemblage  around  the  death-bed  of  that  boy, 
to  be  unheeded.  Major  Lincoln,  in  that  stricken  and  helpless 
child,  you  see  one  who  shares  your  blood,  though  he  has  ever 
been  a  stranger  to  your  happiness.    Job  is  your  brother  1" 

"  Grief  has  maddened  her !"  exclaimed  the  anxious  Cecil : 
"  she  knows  not  what  she  utters." 

"  'Tis  true  !"  said  the  calm  tones  of  Ealph. 

"  Listen,"  continued  Abigail :  "  a  terrible  witness,  sent  hither 
by  Heaven,  speaks  to  attest  I  tell  no  lie.  The  secret  of  my 
transgression  is  known  to  him,  when  I  had  thought  it  buried  in 
the  afiection  of  one  only  who  owed  me  every  thing." 

"  Woman  !"  said  Lionel,  "  in  attempting  to  deceive  me,  you 
deceive  yourself.  Though  a  voice  from  heaven  should  declare 
the  truth  of  thy  damnable  tale,  still  would  I  deny  that  foul  ob- 
ject being  the  child  of  my  beauteous  mother." 

"  Foul  and  wretched  as  you  see  him,  he  is  the  offspring  of 
one  not  less  fair,  though  far  less  fortunate,  than  thy  own  boasted 
parent,  proud  child  of  prosperity !  Call  on  heaven  as  thou  wilt, 
with  that  blasphemous  tongue,  he  is  no  less  thy  brother,  and 
the  elder  born." 

"  'Tis  true — 'tis  true — 'tis  most  solemnly  a  truth  !"  repeated 
the  unmoved  and  aged  stranger. 


448 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


"  It  cannot  be  !"  cried  Cecil.  "  Lincoln,  credit  them  not ; 
they  contradict  themselves." 

"  Out  of  thy  own  mouth  will  I  find  reasons  to  convince  you," 
said  Abigail.  "  Hast  thou  not  owned  the  influence  of  the  son 
at  the  altar  ?  Why  should  one  vain,  ignorant,  and  young  as  I 
was,  be  insensible  to  the  seductions  of  the  father  ?" 

"  The  child  is,  then,  thine  !"  exclaimed  Lionel,  once  more 
breathing  with  freedom.  "  Proceed  with  thy  tale  ;  you  con- 
fide it  to  friends." 

"  Yes — yes,"  cried  Abigail,  clasping  her  hands,  and  speaking 
with  bitter  emphasis :  "  you  have  all  the  consolation  of  proving 
the  difference  between  the  guilt  of  woman  and  that  of  man ! 
Major  Lincoln,  accursed  and  polluted  as  you  see  me,  thy  own 
mother  was  not  more  innocent  nor  fair,  when  my  youthful 
beauty  caught  thy  father's  eye.  He  was  great  and  powerful, 
and  I  unknown  and  frail :  yon  miserable  proof  of  our  transgres- 
sion did  not  appear,  until  he  had  met  your  happier  mother." 

"  Can  this  be  so  ?" 

"  The  holy  Gospels  are  not  more  true  !"  murmured  Ralph. 
"  And  my  father !  did  he — could  he  desert  thee  in  thy 
need  ?" 

"  Shame  came  when  virtue  and  pride  had  been  long  forgot- 
ten. I  was  a  dependent  of  his  own  proud  race,  and  opportuni- 
ties were  not  wanting  to  mark  his  wandering  looks  and  grow- 
ing love  for  the  chaste  Priscilla.  He  never  knew  my  state. 
"While  I  was  stricken  to  the  earth  by  the  fruits  of  guilt,  he 
proved  how  easy  it  is  for  us  to  forget,  in  the  days  of  prosperity, 
the  companions  of  our  shame.  At  length,  you  were  born ; 
and,  unknown  to  him,  I  received  his  new-born  heir  from  the 
hands  of  his  jealous  aunt.  What  accursed  thoughts  beset  me 
at  that  bitter  moment !  But,  praised  be  God  in  heaven,  thev 
passed  away,  and  I  was  spared  the  sin  of  murder  !" 

"  Murder  ?" 

"  Even  of  murder.  You  know  not  the  desperate  thoughts 
the  wretched  harbor  for  relief!    But  opportunity  was  not  long 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


449 


wanting,  and  I  enjoyed  the  momentary,  hellish,  pleasure  of  re 
venge.  Your  father  went  in  quest  of  his  rights,  and  disease 
attacked  his  beloved  wife.  Yes,  foul  and  unseemly  as  is  my 
wretched  child,  the  beauty  of  thy  mother  was  changed  to  a  look 
still  more  hideous !  Such  as  Job  now  seems,  was  the  injured 
woman  on  her  deathbed.  I  feel  all  thy  justice,  Lord  of  power, 
and  bow  before  thy  will !" 

"  Injured  woman  !"  repeated  Lionel,  "  say  on,  and  I  will  bless 
thee !" 

Abigail  gave  a  groan,  so  deep  and  hollow,  that,  for  a  mo- 
ment, the  listeners  believed  it  was  the  parting  struggle  of  the 
spirit  of  her  son,  and  she  sunk,  helplessly,  into  her  seat,  again 
concealing  her  features  in  her  dress. 

"  Injured  woman  !"  slowly  repeated  Ralph,  with  the  most 
taunting  contempt  in  his  accents — "  what  punishment  does  not 
a  wanton  merit  ?" 

"  Ay,  injured  !"  cried  the  awakened  son — "  my  life  on  it,  thy 
tale,  at  least,  is  false." 

The  old  man  was  silent,  but  his  lips  moved  rapidly,  as  if  he 
muttered  an  incredulous  reply  to  himself,  while  a  scornful  smile 
cast  its  bright  and  pecuhar  meaning  across  the  wasted  linea- 
ments of  his  face. 

"  I  know  not  what  you  may  have  heard  from  others,"  con- 
tinued Abigail,  speaking  so  low  that  her  words  were  nearly  lost 
in  the  diflScult  and  measured  breathing  of  Job — "but  I  call 
Heaven  to  witness,  that  you,  now,  shall  hear  no  lie.  The  laws 
of  the  province  commanded  that  the  victims  of  the  foul  distem- 
per should  be  kept  apart,  and  your  mother  was  placed  at  the 
mercy  of  myself,  and  one  other,  who  loved  her  still  less  than  I." 

"  Just  Providence  !  you  did  no  violence  ?" 

"  The  disease  spared  us  such  a  crime.  She  died  in  her  new 
deformity,  while  I  remained  a  looker-on,  if  not  in  the  beauty  of 
my  innocence,  still  free  from  the  withering  touch  of  scorn  and 
want.  Yes,  I  found  a  sinful  but  flattering  consolation  in  that 
thought !  Vain,  weak,  and  foolish  as  I  had  been,  never  did  I  re- 


450 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


gard  my  own  fresh  beauty  ^vith  half  the  inward  pleasure  that  I 
looked  upon  the  foulness  of  my  rival.  Your  aunt,  too — she  w^as 
not  without  the  instigations  of  the  worker  of  mischief." 

"  Speak  only  of  my  mother,"  interrupted  the  impatient  Lio- 
nel— "  of  my  aunt  I  already  know  the  w^hole." 

"  Unmoved  and  calculating  as  she  was,  how  little  did  she 
understand  good  from  evil !  She  even  thought  to  crack  the 
heart-strings,  and  render  whole,  by  her  weak  inventions,  that 
which  the  power  of  God  could  only  create.  The  gentle  spirit 
of  thy  mother  had  hardly  departed,  before  a  vile  plot  was 
hatched  to  destroy  the  purity  of  her  fame.  Blinded  fools  that 
we  v/ere  1  She  thought  to  lead  by  her  soothing  arts,  aided  by 
his  wounded  affections,  the  husband  to  the  feet  of  her  own 
daughter,  the  innocent  mother  of  her  who  stands  beside  thee  ; 
and  I  was  so  vain  as  to  hope,  that,  in  time,  justice  and  my  boy 
might  plead  with  the  father  and  seducer,  and  raise  me  to  the 
envied  station  of  her  whom  I  hated." 

"  And  this  foul  calumny  you  repeated,  with  all  its  basest 
coloring,  to  my  abused  father  ?" 

"  We  did — we  did  ;  yes,  God,  he  knows  we  did  !  and  wher 
he  hesitated  to  believe,  I  took  the  holy  evangelists  as  witnesses 
of  my  truth !" 

"  And  he,"  said  Lionel,  nearly  choked  by  his  emotions — "  he 
believed  it !" 

"  When  he  heard  the  solemn  oath  of  one,  whose  whole  guilt, 
he  thought,  lay  in  her  weakness  to  himself,  he  did.  As  we 
hstened  to  his  terrible  denunciations,  and  saw  the  frown  which 
darkened  his  manly  beauty,  we  both  thought  we  had  succeeded. 
But  how  little  did  we  know  the  difference  between  rooted  pas- 
sion and  passing  inclination  !  The  heart  we  thought  to  ahenate 
from  its  dead  partner,  we  destroyed ;  and  the  reason  we  con- 
spired to  deceive,  was  maddened  !" 

When  her  voice  ceased,  so  profound  a  silence  reigned  in  the 
place,  that  the  roar  of  the  distant  cannonade  sounded  close  at 
hand,  and  even  the  low  murmurs  of  the  excited  town  swept  by 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


451. 


like  the  whisperings  of  the  wind.  Job  suddenly  ceased  to 
breathe,  as  though  his  spirit  had  only  lingered  to  hear  the  con- 
fession of  his  mother ;  and  Polwarth  dropped  the  arm  of  the 
dead  simpleton,  unconscious  of  the  interest  he  had  so  lately 
taken  in  his  fate.  In  the  midst  of  this  deathlike  stillness,  the 
old  man  stole  from  the  side  of  the  body,  and  stood  before  the 
self-condemned  Abigail,  whose  form  was  writhing  under  her 
mental  anguish.  Crouching  more  like  a  tiger  than  a  man,  he 
sprang  upon  her,  with  a  cry  so  sudden,  so  wild,  and  so  horrid, 
that  it  caused  all  within  its  hearino;  to  shudder  with  instant 
dread. 

"  Beldame  !"  he  shouted,  "  I  have  thee  now !  Bring  hither 
the  book  !  the  blessed,  holy  word  of  God  !  Let  her  swear,  let 
her  swear !  Let  her  damn  her  perjured  soul,  in  impious 
oaths 

"  Monster !  release  the  woman !"  cried  Lionel,  advancing  to 
the  assistance  of  the  struggling  penitent ;  "  thou  too,  hoary- 
headed  wretch,  hast  deceived  me  1" 

"  Lincoln  !  Lincoln  !"  shrieked  Cecil,  "  stay  that  unnatural 
hand  1  you  raise  it  on  thy  father  !" 

Lionel  staggered  back  to  the  wall,  where  he  stood  motionless, 
and  gasping  for  breath.  Left  to  work  his  own  frantic  will,  the 
maniac  would  speedily  have  terminated  the  sorrows  of  the 
wretched  woman,  had  not  the  door  been  burst  open  with  a 
crash,  and  the  stranger,  who  was  left,  by  the  cunning  of  the 
madman,  in  the  custody  of  the  Americans,  rushed  to  the 
rescue. 

"  I  know  your  yell,  my  gentle  baronet !"  cried  the  aroused 
keeper,  for  such  in  truth  he  was,  "  and  I  have  a  mark  for  your 
malice,  ,  which  would  have  gladly  had  me  hung  !  But  I  have 
not  followed  you  from  kingdom  to  kingdom — from  Europe  to 
A^merica — to  be  cheated  by  a  lunatic  1" 

It  was  apparent,  by  the  lowering  look  of  the  fellow,  how 
deeply  he  resented  the  danger  he  had  just  escaped,  as  he  sprang 
forward  to  seize  his  prisoner,    Ralph  abandoned  his  hold  the 


452 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


instant  this  liated  object  appeared,  and  lie  darted  upon  the 
breast  of  the  other  with  the  undaunted  fury  that  a  Hon,  at  baj, 
would  turn  upon  its  foe.  The  struggle  was  fierce  and  obstinate. 
Hoarse  oaths,  and  the  most  savage"  execrations,  burst  from  the 
incensed  keeper,  and  were  blended  with  the  wildest  ravings  of 
madness  from  Ralph.  The  excited  powers  of  the  maniac  at 
length  prevailed,  and  his  antagonist  fell  under  their  irresistible 
impulse.  Quicker  than  thought,  Ralph  was  seen  hovering  on 
the  chest  of  his  victim,  while  he  grasped  his  throat  with  fingers 
of  iron. 

"  Vengeance  is  holy  !"  cried  the  maniac,  bursting  into  a 
shout  of  horrid  laughter,  at  his  triumph,  and  shaking  his  gray 
locks  till  they  flowed  in  wild  confusion  around  his  glowing  eye- 
balls ;  "  Urim  and  Thummim  are  the  words  of  glory  !  Liberty 
is  the  shout !  Die,  damned  dog  !  die  like  the  fiends  in  dark- 
ness, and  leave  freedom  to  the  air  !" 

By  a  mighty  effort,  the  gasping  man  released  his  throat  a 
little  from  the  gripe  that  nearly  throttled  him,  and  cried,  with 
difficulty — 

"  For  the  love  of  heavenly  justice,  come  to  my  aid  ! — will 
you  see  a  man  thus  murdered  ?" 

But  he  addressed  himself  to  the  sympathies  of  the  listeners 
in  vain.  The  females  had  hid  their  faces,  in  natural  horror ; 
the  maimed  Polwarth  was  yet  without  his  artificial  limb  ;  and 
Lionel  still  looked  upon  the  savage  fray  with  a  vacant  eye.  At 
this  moment  of  despair,  the  hand  of  the  keeper  was  seen 
plunging  with  violence  into  the  side  of  Ralph,  who  sprang  upon 
his  feet  at  the  third  blow,  laughing  immoderately,  but  with 
sounds  so  wild  and  deep,  that  they  seemed  to  shake  his  inmost 
soul.  His  antagonist  profited  by  the  occasion,  and  darted  from 
the  room  with  the  headlong  precipitation  of  guilt. 

The  countenance  of  the  maniac,  as  he  now  stood,  struggling 
between  life  and  death,  changed  with  each  fleeting  impulse. 
The  blood  flowed  freely  from  the  wounds  in  his  side,  and,  as  the 
fatal  tide  ebbed  away,  a  ray  of  passing  reason  lighted  his,  pallid 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


463 


and  ghastly  features.  His  inward  laugli  entirely  ceased.  The 
glaring  eyeballs  became  stationary;  and  his  look,  gradually 
softening,  settled  on  the  appalled  pair,  who  took  the  deepest 
interest  in  his  welfare.  A  calm  and  decent  expression  possessed 
those  lineaments  which  had  just  exhibited  the  deepest  marks 
of  the  wrath  of  God.  His  lips  moved  in  a  vain  effort  to  speak ; 
an,d,  stretching  forth  his  arms  in  the  attitude  of  benediction, 
like  the  mysterious  shadow  of  the  chapel,  he  fell  backward  on 
the  body  of  the  lifeless  and  long-neglected  Job,  himself  perfectly 
dead. 


454 


LIONEL  LINCOLN, 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

"  I  E8.\v  an  aged  man  upon  his  bier, 
His  hair  was  thin  and  white,  and  on  his  brow 
A  record  of  the  cares  of  many  a  year ; 
Cares  that  were  ended  and  forgotten  now, 
And  there  was  sadness  round,  and  faces  how'd, 
And  woman's  tears  fell  fast,  and  children  wail'd  aloud." 

Beyakt. 

As  the  day  advanced,  the  garrisoji  of  Boston  was  put  in  mo- 
tion. The  same  bustle,  the  same  activity,  the  same  gallant 
bearing  in  some,  and  dread  reluctance  in  others  were  exhibited, 
as  on  the  morning  of  the  fight  of  the  preceding  summer.  The 
haughty  temper  of  the  royal  commander  could  ill  brook  the 
bold  enterprise  of  the  colonists ;  and,  at  an  early  hour,  orders 
were  issued  to  prepare  to  dislodge  them.  Every  gun  that  could 
be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  hills,  was  employed  to  molest  the 
Americans,  who  calmly  continued  their  labors,  while  shot  were 
whistling  around  them  on  every  side.  Towards  evening  a  large 
force  was  embarked,  and  conveyed  to  the  castle.  Washington 
appeared  on  the  heights,  in  person,  and  every  mihtary  evidence 
of  the  intention  of  a  resolute  attack  on  one  part,  and  of  a  stout 
resistance  on  the  other,  became  apparent. 

But  the  fatal  experience  of  Breed's  had  taught  a  lesson  that 
was  still  remembered.  The  same  leaders  were,  to  be  the  princi- 
pal actors  in  the  coming  scene,  and  it  was  necessary  to  use  the 
remnants  of  many  of  the  very  regiments  which  had  bled  so 
freely  on  the  former  occasion.  The  half-trained  husbandmen  of 
the  colonies  were  no  longer  despised ;  and  the  bold  operations 
of  the  past  winter  had  taught  the  English  generals  that,  as 
subordination  increased  among  their  foes,  their  movements  were 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


455 


conducted  with  a  more  vigorous  direction  of  their  numbers. 
The  day  was  accordingly  w^asted  in  preparations.  Thousands 
of  men  slept  on  their  arms  that  night,  in  either  army,  in  the 
expectation  of  rising,  on  the  following  morning,  to  be  led  to  the 
field  of  slaughter. 

It  is  not  improbable,  from  the  tardiness  of  their  movements, 
that  a  large  majority  of  the  royal  forces  did  not  regret  the  pro- 
vidential interposition,  which  certainly  saved  them  torrents  of 
blood,  and,  not  improbably,  the  ignominy  of  a  defeat.  One  of 
the  sudden  tempests  of  the  climate  arose  in  the  darkness,  driv- 
ing before  it  men  and  beasts,  to  seek  protection,  in  their  imbe- 
cility, from  the  more  powerful  warring  of  the  elements.  The 
golden  moments  were  lost ;  and,  after  enduring  so  many  priva- 
tions, and  expending  so  many  lives  in  vain,  Howe  sull^ly  com- 
menced his  arrangements  to  abandon  a  town,  on  which  the  Eng- 
lish ministry  had,  for  years,  lavished  their  indignation,  with  all 
the  acrimony,  and,  as  it  now  seemed,  with  the  impotency  of  a 
blind  revenge. 

To  carry  into  effect  this  sudden  and  necessary  determination, 
was  not  the  work  of  an  hour.  As  it  was  the  desire  of  the 
Americans,  however,  to  receive  their  town  back  again  as  little 
injured  as  possible,  they  forbore  to  push  the  advantage  they 
possessed,  by  occupying  those  heights,  which,  in  a  great  measure, 
commanded  the  anchorage,  as  well  as  a  new  and  vulnerable  face 
of  the  defences  of  the  king's  army.  While  the  semblance  of 
hostiUties  was  maintained  by  an  irregular  and  impotent  cannon- 
ade, conducted  with  so  little  spirit  as  to  wear  the  appearance  of 
being  intended  only  to  amuse,  one  side  was  diligently  occupied 
in  preparing  to  depart,  and  the  other  was  passively  awaiting  the 
moment  when  they  might  peaceably  repossess  their  own.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  remind  the  reader,  that  the  entire  command  of 
the  sea,  by  the  British,  would  have  rendered  any  serious  attempt 
to  arrest  their  movements,  perfectly  futile. 

In~  this  manner  a  week  was  passed  after  the  tempest  had 
abated — the  place  exhibiting,  throughout  this  period,  all  tho 


456 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


hurrj  And  bustle,  the  joy  and  distress,  that  sucli  an  unlooked-for 
event  was  likely  to  create. 

Towards  the  close  of  one  of  those  busy  and  stirring  days,  a 
short  funeral  t]"ain  was  seen  issuing  from  a  building,  which  had 
long  been  known  as  the  residence  of  one  of  the  proudest  families 
in  the  province.  Above  the  outer  door  of  the  mansion  was  sus- 
pended a  gloomy  hatchment,  charged  with  the  '  courant'  deer 
of  Lincoln,  encircled  by  the  usual  mementoes  of  mortality,  and 
bearing  the  rare  symbol  of  the  *  bloody-hand.'  This  emblem  of 
heraldic  grief,  which  was  never  adopted  in  the  provinces,  except 
at  the  death  of  one  of  high  importance,  a  custom  that  has  long 
since  disappeared  with  the  usages  of  the  monarchy,  had  caught 
the  eyes  of  a  few  idle  boys,  who  alone  were  sufHciently  unoc- 
cupied, at  that  pressing  moment,  to  note  its  exhibition.  With 
the  addition  of  these  truant  urchins,  the  melancholy  procession 
took  its  way  towards  the  neighboring  churchyard  of  the  King's 
Chapel. 

The  large  bier  was  covered  by  a  pall  so  ample,  that  it  swept 
the  stones  of  the  threshold,  while  entering  into  the  body  of  the 
church.  Here  it  was  met  by  the  divine  we  have  had  occasion 
to  mention  more  than  once,  who  gazed,  with  a  look  of  strange 
interest  at  the  solitary  and  youthful  mourner  that  closely  fol- 
lowed in  his  dark  weeds.  The  ceremony,  however,  proceeded 
v/ith  the  usual  solemnity,  and  the  attendants  slowly  moved 
deeper  into  the  sacred  edifice.  Next  to  the  young  man  came 
the  well-known  persons  of  the  British  commander-in-chief,  and 
of  his  quick-witted  and  favorite  lieutenant.  Between  them 
walked  an  officer  of  inferior  rank,  who,  notwithstanding  his 
maimed  condition,  had  been  able,  by  the  deliberation  of  the 
march,  to  beguile  the  ears  of  his  companions,  to  the  very  mo- 
ment of  meeting  the  clergyman,  with  some  tale  of  no  little  in- 
terest, and  great  apparent  mystery.  The  remainder  of  the  train, 
which  consisted  only  of  the  family  of  the  two  generals  and  a 
few  menials,  came  last,  if  we  except  the  idlers,  who  stole  curiously 
in  their  footsteps. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


457 


When  the  service  was  ended,  the  same  private  communica- 
tion was  resumed  between  the  two  chieftains  and  their  com- 
panion, and  continued  until  they  arrived  at  the  open  vault,  in  a 
distant  corner  of  the  inclosure.  Here  the  low  conversation 
ended ;  and  the  eye  of  Howe,  which  had  hitherto  been  riveted 
in  deep  attention  on  the  speaker,  began  to  wander  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  dangerous  hills  occupied  by  his  enemies.  The  in- 
terruption seemed  to  have  broken  the  charm  of  the  secret  con- 
versation; and  the  anxious  countenances  of  both  the  leaders 
betrayed  how  soon  their  thoughts  had  wandered  from  a  tale  of 
great  private  distress,  to  their  own  heavier  cares  and  duties. 

The  bier  v/as  placed  before  the  opening,  and  the  assistants  of 
the  sexton  advanced  to  perform  their  office.  When  the  pall 
was  removed,  to  the  evident  amazement  of  most  of  the  specta- 
tors, two  coffins  were  exposed  to  view.  One  was  clothed  in 
black  velvet,  studded  with  silver  nails,  and  ornamented  after  the 
richest  fashions  of  human  pride,  while  the  other  lay  in  the  sim- 
ple nakedness  of  the  clouded  wood.  On  the  breast  of  the  first 
rose  a  heavy  silver  plate,  bearing  a  long  inscription,  and  deco- 
rated with  the  usual  devices  of  heraldry ;  and  on  the  latter  were 
simply  carved  on  the  lid  the  two  initial  letters  J.  P. 

The  impatient  looks  of  the  English  generals  intimated  to  Dr. 
Liturgy  the  value  of  every  moment,  and  in  less  time  than  we 
consume  in  relating  it,  the  bodies  of  the  high-descended  man  of 
wealth,  and  of  his  nameless  companion,  were  lowered  into  the 
vault,  and  left  to  decay,  in  silent  contact,  with  that  of  the  woman 
who,  in  life,  had  been  so  severe  a  scourge  to  both.  After  a 
hesitation  of  a  single  moment,  in  deference  to  the  young 
mourner,  the  gentlemen  present,  perceiving  that  he  manifested 
a  wish  to  remain,  quitted  the  place  in  a  body,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  maimed  officer,  already  mentioned,  whom  the  reader 
has  at  once  recognized  to  be  Polwarth.  When  the  men  had 
replaced  the  stone  above  the  mouth  of  the  vault,  securing  it  by 
a  stout  bar  of  iron,  and  a  heavy  lock,  they  delivered  the  key 
to  the  principal  actor  in  the  scene.    He  received  it  in  silence, 

2Q 


458 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


and,  dropping  gold  into  their  hands,  motioned  to  them  to 
depart. 

In  another  instant,  a  careless  observer  would  have  thought 
that  Lionel  and  his  friend  were  the  only  living  possessors  of  the 
churchyard.  But  under  the  adjoining  wall,  partly  hid  from 
observation  by  the  numerous  headstones,  was  the  form  uf  a 
woman,  bowed  to  the  earth,  while  her  figure  was  concealed  by 
the  cloak  she  had  gathered  shapelessly  about  her.  As  soon  as 
the  gentlemen  perceived  they  were  alone,  they  slowly  advanced 
to  the  side  of  this  desolate  being. 

Their  approaching  footsteps  were  not  unheeded,  though,  in- 
stead of  facing  those  who  so  evidently  wished  to  address  her, 
she  turned  to  the  wall,  and  began  to  trace,  with  unconscious 
fingers,  the  letters  of  a  tablet  in  slate,  which  was  let  into  the 
brick-work,  to  mark  the  position  of  the  tomb  of  the  Lechmeres. 

"  We  can  do  no  more,"  said  the  young  mourner  :  "  all  now 
rests  with  a  mightier  hand  than  any  of  earth." 

The  squalid  limb,  that  was  thrust  from  beneath  the  red  gar- 
ment, trembled,  but  it  still  continued  its  unmeaning  employ- 
ment. 

"  Sir  Lionel  Lincoln  speaks  to  you,"  said  Polwarth,  on  whose 
arm  the  youthful  baronet  leaned. 

"Whof  shrieked  Abigail  Pray,  casting  aside  her  covering, 
and  baring  those  sunken  features,  on  which  misery  had  made 
terrible  additional  inroads  within  a  few  days :  "  I  had  forgotten 
— I  had  forgotten !  the  son  succeeds  the  father ;  but  the  mother 
must  follow  her  child  to  the  grave !" 

"  He  is  honorably  interred  with  those  of  his  blood,  and  by  the 
side  of  one  who  loved  his  simple  integrity.'' 

"Yes,  he  is  better  lodged  in  death  than  he  was  in  life! 
Thank  God  !  he  can  never  know  cold  nor  hunger  more." 

"  You  v/ill  find  that  I  have  made  a  provision  for  your  future 
comfort ;  and  I  trust  that  the  close  of  your  life  will  be  happier 
than  its  prime." 

"  I  am  alone,"  said  the  woman  hoarsely.   "  The  old  will  avoid 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


469 


me,  and  the  young  will  look  upon  me  in  scorn !  Perjury  and 
revenge  lie  heavy  on  my  soul !" 

The  young  baronet  was  silent,  but  Pol  war  th  assumed  the 
right  to  reply — 

"  I  will  not  pretend  to  assert,"  said  the  worthy  captain,  "  that 
these  are  not  both  wicked  companions ;  but  I  have  no  doubt 
you  will  find,  som.ewhere  in  the  Bible,  a  suitable  consolation  for 
each  particular  offence.  Let  me  recommend  to  you  a  hearty 
diet,  and  I'll  answer  for  an  easy  conscience.  I  never  knew  the 
prescription  fail.  Look  about  you  in  the  world — does  you? 
well-fed  villain  feel  remorse  ?  No ;  it's  only  when  his  stomach 
is  empty,  that  he  begins  to  think  of  his  errors !  I  w^ould  also 
suggest  the  expediency  of  commencing  soon,  with  something 
substantial,  as  you  show,  altogether,  too  much  bone,  at  present, 
for  a  thriving  condition.  I  would  not  wish  to  say  any  thing 
distressing,  but  we  both  of  us  may  remember  a  case,  where  the 
nourishment  came  too  late." 

"  Yes,  yes,  it  came  too  late  !"  murmured  the  conscience- 
stricken  woman :  "  all  comes  too  late !  even  the  penitence,  I 
fear !" 

"  Say  not  so,"  observed  Lionel ;  "  you  do  outrage  to  the  pro- 
mises of  one  who  never  spoke  false  !" 

Abigail  stole  a  fearful  glance  at  him,  which  expressed  all 
the  secret  terror  of  her  soul,  as  she  half  w^hispered — 

"  Who  witnessed  the  end  of  Madam  Lechmere  ?  did  her 
spirit  pass  in  peace  ?" 

Sir  Lionel  again  remained  profoundly  silent. 

"  I  thought  it,"  she  continued :  "  'Tis  not  a  sin  to  be  forgot- 
ten on  a  death-bed !  To  plot  evil,  and  call  on  God,  aloud,  to 
look  upon  it !  Ay  !  and  to  madden  a  brain,  and  strip  a  soul 
like  his  to  nakedness  !  Go,"  she  added,  beckoning  them  away 
with  earnestness :  "  ye  are  young  and  happy ;  why  should  ye 
linger  near  the  grave  !  Leave  me,  that  I  may  pray  among  the 
tombs !  If  any  thing  can  smooth  the  bitter  moment,  it  is 
prayer." 


4(30 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


Lionel  dropped  the  key  lie  held  in  his  hand  at  her  feet,  and 
said,  before  he  left  her — 

"  Yon  vault  is  closed  forever,  unless,  at  your  request,  it 
should  be  opened,  at  some  future  time,  to  place  you  by  the  side 
of  your  son.  The  children  of  those  who  built  it  are  already 
gathered  there  with  the  exception  of  two,  who  go  to  the  other 
hemisphere  to  leave  their  bones.  Take  it,  and  may  heaven  for- 
give you,  as  I  do." 

He  let  fall  a  heavy  purse  by  the  side  of  the  key,  and,  with- 
out uttering  more,  he  again  took  the  arm  of  Polwarth,  and  to- 
gether they  left  the  place. 

As  they  turned  through  the  gateway  into  the  street,  each 
stole  a  glance  at  the  distant  woman.  She  had  risen  to  her 
knees ;  her  hands  had  grasped  a  headstone,  and  her  face  was 
bowed  nearly  to  the  earth,  while,  by  the  writhing  of  her  form, 
and  the  humility  of  her  attitude,  it  was  apparent  that  her  spirit 
struggled  powerfully  with  the  Lord  for  mercy. 

Three  days  afterwards,  the  Americans  entered,  triumphantly, 
on  the  retiring  footsteps  of  the  royal  army.  The  first  among 
them  who  hastened  to  visit  the  graves  of  their  fathers,  found  the 
body  of  a  woman,  who  had,  seemingly  died  under  the  severity 
of  the  season.  She  had  unlocked  the  vault,  in  a  vain  effort  to 
reach  her  child,  and  there  her  strength  had  failed  her.  Her 
limbs  were  decently  stretched  on  the  faded  grass,  while  her 
features  were  composed,  exhibiting  in  death  the  bland  traces  of 
that  remarkable  beauty,  which  had  distinguished  and  betrayed 
her  youth.    The  gold  still  lay  neglected,  where  it  had  fallen. 

The  amazed  townsmen  avoided  this  spectacle  with  horror, 
rushing  into  other  places  to  gaze  at  the  changes  and  the  de- 
struction of  their  beloved  birthplace.  But  a  follower  of  the 
royal  army,  who  had  lingered  to  plunder,  and  who  had  wit- 
nessed the  interview  between  the  officers  and  Abigail,  shortly 
succeeded  them.  He  lifted  the  flag,  and,  lowering  the  body, 
closed  the  vault ;  then  hurling  away  the  key,  he  seized  the 
money,  and  departed. 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


461 


The  slate  has  long  since  mouldered  from  the  wall ;  the  sod 
has  covered  the  stone,  and  few  are  left  who  can  designate  the 
spot  where  the  proud  families  of  Lechmere  and  Lincoln  were 
wont  to  inter  their  dead. 

So  Lionel  and  Polwarth  proceeded,  in  the  deepest  silence,  to 
the  Long  Wharf,  where  a  boat  received  them.  They  were 
rowed  to  the  much-admired  frigate,  that  was  standing  ofF-and- 
on,  under  easy  sail,  waiting  their  arrival.  On  her  decks  they 
met  Agnes  Danforth,  with  her  eyes  softened  by  tears,  though  a 
rich  flush  mantled  on  her  cheeks,  at  witnessing  the  compelled 
departure  of  those  invaders  she  had  never  loved. 

"  I  have  only  remained  to  give  you  a  parting  kiss,  cousin 
Lionel,"  said  the  frank  girl,  affectionately  saluting  him,  "  and 
now  shall  take  my  leave,  without  repeating  those  wishes  that 
you  know  are  so  often  conveyed  in  my  prayers." 

"  You  will,  then,  leave  us  ?"  said  the  young  baronet,  smiling 
for  the  first  time  in  many  a  day.  "  You  know  that  this  cru- 
elty-" 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  loud  hem  from  Polwarth,  who  ad- 
vanced, and,  taking  the  hand  of  the  lady,  repeated  his  wish  to 
retain  it  forever,  for  at  least  the  fiftieth  time.  She  heard  him, 
in  silence,  and  with  much  apparent  respect,  though  an  arch 
smile  stole  upon  her  gravity,  before  he  had  ended.  She  then 
thanked  him  with  suitable  grace,  and  gave  a  final  and  decided 
refusal.  The  captain  sustained  the  repulse  like  one  who  had 
seen  much  similar  service,  and  politely  lent  his  assistance  to 
help  the  obdurate  girl  into  her  boat.  Here  she  was  received 
by  a  young  man,  who  was  apparelled  like  an  American  oflScer, 
Sir  Lionel  thought  the  bloom  on  her  cheek  deepened,  as  her 
companion  assiduously  drew  a  cloak  around  her  form  to  protect 
her  from  the  chill  of  the  water.  Instead  of  returning  to  the 
town,  the  boat,  which  bore  a  flag,  pulled  directly  for  the  shore 
occupied  by  the  Americans.  The  following  week,  Agnes  was 
united  to  this  gentleman,  in  the  bosom  of  her  own  family. 
They  soon  after  took  quiet  possession  of  the  house  in  Tremont- 


462 


LIONEL  LINCOLK. 


street,  and  of  all  the  large  real  estate  left  by  Mrs.  Leclimere^ 
whicL.  had  been  previously  bestowed  on  her,  by  Cecil,  as  a 
dowry. 

As  soon  as  his  passengers  appeared,  the  captain  of  the  frigate 
communicated  with  his  ,  admiral,  by  signal,  and  received,  in  re- 
turn, the  expected  order  to  proceed  in  the  execution  of  his  trust. 
In  a  few  minutes  the  swift  vessel  was  gliding  by  the  heights  of 
Dorchester,  training  her  guns  on  the  adverse  hills,  and  hurriedly 
spreading  her  canvas  as  she  passed.  The  Americans,  however, 
looked  on  in  sullen  silence,  and  she  w^as  suJBfered  to  gain  the 
open  ocean,  unmolested,  when  she  made  the  best  of  her  way  to 
England,  with  the  important  intelligence  of  the  intended  evacu- 
ation. 

She  was  speedily  followed  by  the  fleet,  since  which  period, 
(he  long-oppressed  and  devoted  town  of  Boston  has  never  been 
visited  by  an  armed  enemy. 

During  their  passage  to  England,  sufficient  time  was  allowed 
Lionel  and  his  gentle  companion  to  reflect  on  all  that  had  oc- 
curred. Together,  and  in  the  fullest  confidence,  they  traced  the 
vv^anderings  of  intellect  which  had  so  closely  and  mysteriously 
connected  the  deranged  father  with  his  impotent  child ;  and,  as 
they  reasoned,  by  descending  to  the  secret  springs  of  his  disor- 
dered impulses,  they  were  easily  enabled  to  divest  the  inci- 
dents we  have  endeavored  to  relate,  of  all  their  obscurity  and 
doubt. 

The  keeper,  who  had  been  sent  in  quest  of  the  fugitive  mad- 
man, never  returned  to  his  native  land.  No  ofiers  of  forgive- 
ness could  induce  the  unwilling  agent  in  the  death  of  the  bar- 
onet to  trust  his  person,  again,  within  the  influence  of  the  Brit- 
ish laws.  Perhaps  he  was  conscious  of  a  motive,  that  none  but 
an  inward  monitor  might  detect.  Lionel,  tired  at  length  with 
importuning  without  success,  commissioned  the  husband  of 
Agnes  to  place  him  in  a  situation  where,  by  industry,  his  fu- 
ture comfort  was  amply  secured. 

Polwarth  died  quite  lately.     ^Notwithstanding  his  maimed 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


463 


limb,  he  contrived,  by  the  assistance  of  bis  friend,  to  ascend  the 
ladder  of  promotion,  by  regular  gradations,  nearly  to  its  sum- 
mit. At  the  close  of  his  long  hfe,  he  wrote  Gen.,  Bart.,  and 
M.  P.  after  his  name.  When  England  was  threatened  with  the 
French  invasion,  the  garrison  he  commanded  was  distinguished 
for  being  better  provisioned  than  any  other  in  the  realm,  and 
no  doubt  it  would  have  made  a  resistance  equal  to  its  resources. 
In  Parliament,  where  he  sat  for  one  of  the  Lincoln  boroughs,  he 
was  chiefly  distinguished  for  the  patience  with  which  he  listened 
to  the  debates,  and  for  the  remarkable  cordiality  of  the  "  Ay  " 
that  he  pronounced  on  every  vote  for  supplies.  To  the  day  of 
his  death,  he  was  a  strenuous  advocate  for  the  virtues  of  a  rich 
diet,  in  all  cases  of  physical  suffering,  "  especially,"  as  he.  would 
add,  with  an  obstinacy  that  fed  itself,  "  in  instances  of  debility 
from  febrile  symptoms." 

Within  a  year  of  their  amval,  the  uncle  of  Cecil  died,  hav- 
ing shortly  before  followed  an  only  son  to  the  grave.  By  this 
unlooked-for  event,  Lady  Lincoln  became  the  possessor  of  his 
large  estates,  as  well  as  of  an  ancient  barony,  that  descended  to 
the  heirs  general.  From  this  time  until  the  eruption  of  the 
French  Eevolution,  Sir  Lionel  Lincoln,  and  Lady  Cardonnell,  as 
Cecil  was  now  styled,  lived  together  in  sweetest  concord  ;  the 
gentle  influence  of  her  affection  moulding  and  bending  the  fe- 
verish temperament  of  her  husband,  at  will.  The  heir-loom  of 
the  family,  that  distempered  feeling  so  often  mentioned,  vvas 
forgotten,  in  the  even  tenor  of  their  happiness.  When  the 
heaviest  pressure  on  the  British  Constitution  was  apprehended, 
and  it  became  the  policy  of  the  minister  to  enlist  the  wealth 
and  talent  of  his  nation  in  its  support,  by  propping  the  existing 
administration,  the  rich  baronet  received  a  peerage  in  his  own 
person.  Before  the  end  of  the  century,  he  was  further  ad 
vanced  to  a  dormant  earldom,  that  had,  in  former  ages,  been 
one,  of  the  honors  of  an  elder  branch  of  his  family. 

Of  all  the  principal  actors  in  the  foregoing  tale,  not  one  is 
Dow  living.   Even  the  roses  of  Cecil  and  Agnes  have  lona^  since 


464 


LIONEL  LINCOLN. 


ceased  to  bloom,  and  Death  has  gathered  them,  in  peace  and 
innocence,  with  all  that  had  gone  before.  The  historical  facts 
of  our  legend  are  beginning  to  be  obscured  by  time  ;  and  it  is 
more  than  probable  that  the  prosperous  and  affluent  English 
peer,  who  now  enjoys  the  honors  of  the  house  of  Lincoln,  never 
knew  the  secret  history  of  his  family,  while  it  sojourned  in  a 
remote  province  of  the  British  empire. 


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